Casper's School Days
by Abyss the Hedgehog
Summary: I'm in Sakakino Academy, unlucky enough to get involved in famous love triangle which starts developing in rather interesting way. Hope you will enjoy. T Rating just in case.
1. Chapter 1: Introduction

**So basically it's my first story in "full" School Days universe. Myself versus everything that Sakakino can throw, including... Nah, you'll see. **

**I know that my English is... far from good, to say at least, but please, don't point it out unless you have no idea what's going on a certain scene. I'm not a Native English, but I'm not trying to excuse myself, just say that my English is butchered. **

**Other than that, I will probably be a little bit "upgraded", but not too much. Sorry, no heroic "taking the bullet", brawls with Yandere and other things... At least I think so. **

**Of course, all kind of reviews are welcomed and acceptable. So, enjoy. :)  
**

* * *

The name's Casper.

Where should I begin…? Well, allow me to introduce myself. I'm, as stated before, Casper, Casper Wala to be precise. I'm not sure how pronounce my own surname in English, so I use the original pronunciation, the Polish one. Yeah, I'm from Poland.

Did I do something impressive in my life? Don't think so… I'm writing stories, pretty decent ones, I think… I've had an urge to write one story about recent events; it would be pretty damn cool.

So what happened? Oh boy, it all started so simple…

* * *

My first day in Sakakino Academy.

Sweet Jesus, I hate school uniforms. I hate them, hate with burning passion, even if they're pretty cool. Maybe it's because I'm an individualist…? Oh, nevermind. This one isn't so bad. Looks a little like some kind of suit, especially with this tie… Boy, I despise ties. I cannot stand them, they are so… formal. In my younger years, I used to ignore all rules about official clothes during important days (Eleventh of November for example, our Independence Day) and always wearing black jeans (They're still my favourite) with black sneakers. Actually it worked until now. Now I'm forced to wear these… abominations. Let's hope I'll get used to them.

I give some look around the train. I notice another teen in identical uniform. He has got dark short hair and brown eyes. Apparently he's shorter than me. He listens his MP-3 player and actually looks pretty bored. Oh well, he wasn't the only one.

I switch songs. No, nope, not this one… Ah, finally. I close my eyes and allow myself to enter into some kind of blissful contentment: Kreator's "_Warcurse_" really does his job. It, however, cannot allow me to hear this irritating artificial voice announcing another station.

"_Harahirama. Harahirama_", it says. For some unknown reason, that guy in uniform becomes a little bit more lively. Several people enter the train and… I finally can find out what's going on.

A girl, probably from Sakakino too. Dark, long and straight hair, big purple eyes, big… Um, attitude (You know the deal, don't you?), little yet cheerful smile. I give her a little look and start switching songs again. Yup, "_Painkiller_" by Judas Priest should prevent me from giving occasional looks. It's hard to resist, especially because she sat next to me. It appears that she's reading something, but, unfortunately, my knowledge about hiragana, katakana and kanji is limited to basics (I'm a little better with speaking though – May **_Boss_** bless romaji), so I cannot say what the book is about. Than again, the other guy still watches her. I can see that he takes her photo with his phone. Oh well, it's not my business.

There it is, our station. Suddenly I realize that I have no idea where the school is. Geez, looks like I need to ask someone about direction… Or just follow these two.

Hmm… It takes longer than I thought. My cell phone's footsteps meter will be friggin' happy. My feet, not so much. Still I need to get use to these blasted shoes. They're so uncomfortable that it's not even funny. Luckily, I manage to get to the mentioned school without blisters. Somehow.

* * *

Is it just me or everybody is looking at my humble person?

It's very possible, mainly because of my not-so-common-in-Japan Caucasian features. To make things worse, glasses and studded fingerless gloves (I categorically refused to take them out and luckily, they allow me to wear them). I can hear some whispers behind me. Hmph, looks like I'm gonna be some kind of "local weirdo".

The long-haired girl and that other guy part ways. My class is… the third one. Looks like me and him are going to be class-mates. I turn off my music player as we approach the class. Suddenly, someone bumps onto me, strong enough to pull me a few steps back (Which isn't much of an achievement). I look confused at the sudden "attacker".

A girl with brown, shoulder-length hair and purple pale eyes sits on the floor, stunned. Looks like she's the real victim.

"Hey, you're alright?", I ask, a little concerned with my broken Japanese and English mixture. She (Fortunately) seems to understand me, 'cause she shakes her head in "Yes" fashion. "I'm terribly sorry.", I continue to speak, trying to sound credible (I was more like confused than embarrassed… Maybe all this acting was because of my tendencies to making everything a theatre?). "Are you sure...?"

"Yeah, it's nothing.", she responds cheerfully, standing up. I notice that she has a single strand of hair standing around. "Thanks for caring… Hey, you're that new one?", she asks with curiosity in her voice.

Oh dear Sammael, it starts **BEFORE** I even have an opportunity to enter the classroom?

"I would say false, if I denied this", I respond cautiously.

"Cool!", she says with authentic happiness in her voice. I wonder why the teacher doesn't come: I can clearly see he's not in class. "I'm Saionji Sekai, but everybody calls me Sekai.", she says, smiling. Is it just me or the amount of her energy is totally overwhelming my pessimistic nature?

"Wala Casper. Nice to meet you, Saionji-san", I respond officially.

"Please, don't call me per "san". It makes me feel old.", she giggles. Looks like I found my total counterpart.

"So… Are we gonna stay here? Teacher's going to show up anytime."

"No worries, sensei's absent today. Pretty good start of a day, don't ya think?"

"Yeah…"

"Hey, what's the matter? Show me some joy."

"Hurray…", I say without emotion, a little annoyed. If all girls in this school are like this, these three years will be extremely painful. On the other hand, I hadn't that much attention since primary school. It's pretty nice… Despite this, Sekai already has proved to be pretty hyper. Too hyper I think.

"Ah, you still hadn't met the others", she says all of a sudden, surprising me.

"Others…? There are the others?", I respond dully.

"Baka. Of course they are the others. C'mon", To my surprise, she grabs my hand and drags me into the class.

Please tell me it's not happening… May _**Boss**_ have mercy.

* * *

Thankfully Sekai's friends aren't that much enthusiastic and optimistic like her. Okay, actually they're pretty acceptable, especially Kiyoura Setsuna, the shortest of them all. Gosh dang it to heck, she is only 1.42 meters high (According to Sekai). I was taller when I was like… Nine? On the other hand, she's by far the calmest person in the entire group and has already proved to be worthy in conversations. She's that kind of girl that compensates her lack of… physical abilities with always-kept-cool mind, intelligence and smooth talk. The others… Kuroda Hikari is, in fact, a little less hyper version of Sekai. Sawanaga Taisuke looks okay at first glance, even though he constantly talks about girls(Most of his talk is perverted, thankfully he can talk about others things too). Kanroji Nanami is "the cool one" of the group, always smiling and giving some sarcastic comments, but she's able to keep her "coolness" at times. She's also only slightly shorter than me and actually could fit the European standards… And last, but not least, Itou Makoto, the guy from the train. Often banters and argues with Sekai, although these arguments are more funny than serious. Looks like these too gets along pretty well.

"So, how's the first day in Sakakino?", Saionji's voice distracts me from pondering. I **NEED** to get use to her attitude, quickly.

"Apart from the fact that I don't understand anything at all? Pretty nice.", I respond, a little irritated.

"Oh, you must stop using this constant sarcasm of yours.", she says, again with this irritating smile. All of a sudden, she starts poking me. "Hey, why so serious? We'll make you smile."

"Have you ever watched "_Dark Knight_"?", I sighed. Suddenly Sawanaga bursts out laughing. Looks like he watched this movie. "You should, it's pretty enlightening."

"Come on, don't be gloomy."

"I think that you should stop being merry", I respond, trying to play her game.

"I was first", she smiles triumphantly… And than she sees my right eye twitching erratically. To make things clear, I can actually mimic eye twitch. One old friend of mine said that it's incredibly false… Thankfully, it did his job.

"Oh, sorry…", she says, a bit less cheerful than before. I can't resist. I must smile… And I do so.

It's like a half of second, but I can clearly feel her hit, directly on my head. Damn, it hurts.

"_Baka!_", she says fiercely, anger with her voice. Looks like I've just pissed here enough to make her drop her mask.

"What in the world was that about?", I ask, still feeling pain. Man, she can hit pretty hard.

"She's angry, 'cause you beat her in her own game", Itou responds calmly, smiling.

"Yeah, Saionji-san's just got hoist by her own petard", Sawanaga says and than both of them bursts out laughing. To me, it's not that funny, more like "Fu**in' pain!" Moments later, both laughing ones end in similar state, although it appears they suffered even more painful shots. Well, at least I'm not the only one suffering here.

"Do not underestimate my intelligence. I can easily discover the bluff", Sekai says, still sulking. Somehow I manage to resist the temptation and don't tell her what I think about her skills of discovering. Hey, my head isn't made of iron, right?

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to offend you", I say, authentically sincerely. She gives me a sour look, but eventually becomes cheerful again.

"Nah, I think we're both guilty", she says finally. Yup, it's the same cheerful and hyper Saionji Sekai I've met before.

"Thanks", I say after short moment of silence. "It's really nice that you allowed me to… Well, join to your group. To be honest, I've never noticed that much of concern about my person. Once again, thank you."

"You're welcome.", Setsuna responds calmly. She has some kind of mystery aura around her… Something really scary is in her voice… Or maybe I'm just too tired? "It appears that our break is heading to the end.", she says, slowly standing up. "See you later.", she greets the others and walks away from canteen.

* * *

The rest of the day I spent trying to understand teachers and not to go nuts because of constant "quarrels" with Sekai. She's definitely one of the most energetic persons I've ever met, if not the most energetic one. She's… Helluva annoying, yet incredibly friendly, open-minded and easy-going… I think I like her. She is okay, at least when she's not too much irritating. It also appears that Makoto is actually even more punished than me as Saionji's sitting next to him on every lesson. I'm luckier, my class-partner is Setsuna who is more focused on lesson than teasing others. I think I can ask Itou about Sekai since he looks like he knows her pretty well.

"It must be hard sitting next to the Saionji-san, eh?", I say to him, when we're heading back home.

"You have no idea how much… Especially now.", he responds, a little embarrassed.

"What do you mean?"

"There is a superstition that if you manage to take a photo of someone you like and keep it secret from him or her for three weeks you would end falling in love with that person.", he explains and starts smiling. "But for me it's just a superstition."

"That girl from the train, right?", I ask, but I know the answer.

"Yeah. Her last name is Katsura, unfortunately I don't know her full name. She's…"

"Stunning, pretty, wonderful and so on…?" Makoto shakes his head in "Yes" fashion. "And how is Sekai involved in this?"

"Oh, she tries to pair us."

"She does what?", I ask, pretty surprised.

"She said that she can help me learn something about Katsura-san. She even became friends with her."

"So she can pull such thing off?"

"Certainly. On the other hand, it works: She even arranged our meeting on tomorrow."

"Well than, good luck, Casanova.", I say, smiling sarcastically. Looks like he doesn't mind my ironic expressions. "Oh, Itou-san… Can I ask you a small favor?"

"I think so.", we're entering the train. Katsura's on her usual place, reading her book. Itou becomes a little more nervous than before.

"Can you gather some information about Saionji-san for me?", I ask. He seems a little surprised, but smiles after a short while.

"Sure, this shouldn't be a problem", he responds and starts watching the girl. Looks like the chat is over, so I grab my music player and allow myself to enter the state of blissful contentment once again, this time with Within Temptation.

First day in new school – Completed.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this fine example of "How to slaughter English". As stated before, reviews are welcomed.**


	2. Chapter 2: Sekai's plan

**So, here's the second part. Hope you will enjoy. Oh, and Happy New Year to you all. :)

* * *

**

After my first day in Sakakino I thought that all these recent events are just some kind of dream. Fortunately and unfortunately, I was wrong: Still I need to get up ridiculously early and manage to wake up all house, including my parents and my older sister.

We're living in a house, not really big, but decent enough. Maybe it's just because of this creaking stairs? Or because of my tendency to damage at least one thing per each morning? Anyway, after another rant from series "You'll be quiet or you'll be grounded" quick run into train station and I'm here, barely breathing(I'm a certain opposite of sportsman yet I manage to keep my slim posture). Makoto enters on the next station. We're greeting each other and than we're heading to Harahirama, where Katsura enters. Again with her book. Unfortunately for me, battery is dead, so – in order to kill boredom – I've took some Polish literature. Ah yes, "_Last Wish_" by Sapkowski and everything seems better. Finally, we're here.

Again, marathon. Compared to my previous schools looks incredibly long. Let's hope I'll get used to it. I've got also a lesson: Never try to read while walking or else you'll end on a city lamp. Moaning painfully. Thankfully I managed to save my glasses.

Again, these two part ways. I can easily see all of his looks towards her.

"So, how long have you been noticing her?", I ask Itou, curious.

"Since the end of first semester, but real deal starts now, I think", he responds, pondering about something. "She's… Well, really pretty and all… You know…"

"And you're too shy to try speaking with her, so instead you've just taken her photo… And then Saionji-san notices it and try to help you?"

"Absolutely.", we're approaching the classroom and take our seats. Sekai is already here, as cheerful as yesterday. Unfortunately, my "getting used to her attitude" seems to fail miserably.

"Hiya!", she greets us with smile. The same annoying expression… Or maybe I'm just too tired to notice positives.

"Morning, Saionji-san", I respond, yawning. "So, what's so special about today?"

"I'm not sure I understand."

"How do you manage to keep your cheerful attitude? I simply don't get it. You're… You're goddamn hyperactive, woman.", I explain my doubts. She looks at me for a while, than starts laughing. Of course.

"You're even funnier than I thought", she says with some difficulty(She still keeps laughing). "You know, someone told me that living without smile is like sushi without wasabi."

"Nevermind, sorry for bothering you.", I make retreat, regretting my previous sentence.

"Nah, it's all right. Oh, and by the way, we're going to make some plan about pairing Katsura-san and Makoto, aren't we?"

"We?", I say, pretty surprised. Looks like Itou had already managed to inform Sekai about yesterday's chat.

"Come on, don't you want them together? They'll look so cute in pair."

"From my observations I can assume that Katsura-san doesn't even know about Itou-san's existence.", I respond truthfully. "But I do believe you HAVE done something in order to make this change, haven't you?", she just smiles innocently. "Besides, forcing two people to go dating each other… Isn't it a little too exaggerated?"

"_Baka_. Of course we don't force any of them. Katsura-san has already expressed willingness to meet with Makoto-kun. And he… Well, he's like an open book. It is clear that he loves her."

"And you care because…"

"Just because.", she responds, again surprising me. "You know, when two people exchange their feelings to each other and than say "I love you"… It's so romantic. Also, Makoto-kun is my old friend, so it wouldn't be polite to ignore his attempts."

"I think I get it… And I care because…", I murmur, watching her cautiously.

"Because Saionji-san asks you a favor", she responds, smiling.

"No. It's not my cup of tea. Love is… Stupid.", I say, now embarrassed because I clearly know how stupid it sounds. Sekai looks surprised after my statement. "Stupid… And bitter. Never works and even if somehow, it'll develop into madness and possessiveness. My only love is art of writing and nothing more."

"You're writing?"

"Kinda. Fantasy stories, where love is usually mauled to pieces."

"Explains everything."

"Okay, I have never been in love, but I know how it ends."

"Since you've never been, you can't say love is a bad thing.", she protests stubbornly.

"Sorry, I prefer Big Bad winning rather than another sweet prince-princess pairing. Of course, minimal amounts of blood, gore and misery is required. Than, some antagonist's servant or right-hand who is talkative, funny and charismatic… Oh, sorry, didn't mean to bore you."

"Of course you don't. Except Makoto-kun and Setsuna you're one of the most interesting persons I've ever met", she says with FULL sincerity.

"You're mocking me, aren't you?", I ask after a while. Looks like it worked, Sekai finally stops smiling.

"_Baka._", she mumbles and stops paying attention to me. Suddenly, I feel like a jerk. At least, she's sincere.

Silence permits two lessons. With every next minute I feel more and more guilty. Hell, I'm going to actually apologize her. When we're leaving the class, I can see her and Itou talking about something. Let's hope I do not interrupt something important.

"Can I borrow Saionji-san for a moment?", I ask, trying to look relaxed.

"Sekai…?", Makoto asks her. She smiles lightly and nods. He shrugs his arms and walks away, probably into canteen.

"You've got something to tell me", she says, looking for some reaction.

"Emm… Sorry for being an asshole.", I respond. She doesn't say anything. "You know, it's just… Unusual that someone likes me that much. I'm not used to such treatment… Once again, sorry.", I continue apologizing and suddenly I feel… that it's not acting anymore. I really feel guilty.

Sekai smiles gently.

"It's alright", she finally says, patting my shoulder. "So, are you in?"

"I'll probably regret it, but okay, I think I can help you… If you tell me, how… Pardner."

"You play _Team Fortress 2_?", she asks suddenly, totally surprised. Awkward silence breaks our chatter.

"YOU play _Team Fortress 2_?", we asks each other, shocked. Some people gives curious looks at us. Again, silence. I've finally managed to raise my finger and point it at her.

"You…?"

"Yeah… Pretty addicting.", she tries to mask her embarrassment with silly smile.

"Like hell…"

"So, you say you play as Engie?"

"Sometimes, yes…Ah, let's avoid this topic. If I manage to get the initiative in chat, you'll find yourself sleeping in a matter of seconds.", I respond, smiling lightly. It's good to know that we have at least one thing in common. She smiles, too.

"Oh no, our meeting on the rooftop!", she says suddenly, pretty scared(And also scaring me with this sudden change).

"Oops…"

"C'mon, we can still make it!", Sekai starts running towards stairs and so do I, having absolutely no idea where the rooftop is.

* * *

Fortunately, they were still there, Itou and Katsura. Amusingly enough, it looked like they're were trying to avoid themselves rather than closing to each other.

"Hey, sorry for being late!", Saionji says loudly, smiling. Our two lovers look pretty embarrassed(For a good reason, at least in my opinion), than they notice me… And I can easily tell that my presence makes long-haired girl even shyer than before. Well, my appearance wasn't discussed, so I can understand her. Makoto, on the other hand, looks more like confused.

"Oh, I thought we can involve him into this", Sekai explains, again summoning apologetic smile. "Casper-kun wants to help you two in…"

"Romantic things.", I finish her sentence, trying to sound authentically. Itou doesn't seem to be pleased with this cliffhanger, but apparently Katsura doesn't mind. She even gives me a slight smile.

"Oh my, I haven't introduced you to Katsura-san", Saionji says suddenly. She seems to be worried. "No matter, we can do it right now, can't we?", she adds to her sentence, again with this irritating smile of hers. I think I can handle this one pretty nicely.

"Wala Casper. Pleasure to meet you, Katsura-san.", I say, bowing in traditional fashion (Forty five degrees). She seems to be surprised about my official behavior, but doesn't complain. Itou, on the other hand… Looks like he thinks I'm some kind of "rival" in our "pack". You shouldn't worry yourself, my dense friend.

"So, how's the conversation going?", Sekai asks, smiling slyly.

"Oh… It's… It's fine", Katsura responds, blushing rapidly. Her voice is actually pretty pleasant to the ear. Itou just nods his head, also pretty embarrassed.

"Okay, we need to invent a plan", my partner in "crime" says silently, almost whispering.

"I thought that you already have a plan."

"Well, I had… But than you appeared and…"

"Wait, it was YOUR idea to get me involved, so don't tell me you have no idea what to do."

"I've got one idea. We need to… Hmm, how to name it… Oh, get in closer relations with them."

"Go on…"

"You can try to motivate and encourage Katsura-san when I'll try to do the same thing with Makoto-kun."

"…I don't know anything at all about her and yet you want ME to help her?"

"We've got the deal.", she says it pretty seriously.

"Okay, okay, you win. But still, maybe we should change our… victims?"

"According to Makoto-kun, you ride train with her everyday."

"It makes things a little bit complicated, you see… I've got a feeling that Itou-san treats me like some kind of a "competitor" for Katsura-san's heart.", as I expected, she bursts out laughing.

"All right, we can switch", she says after while, trying to catch breath. "But don't fail me, Casper-kun. Makoto's depending on your suggestions."

"Maybe we should join them…?", I ask, a little embarrassed. Is it just me or it looks like we're a couple or something…? Sweet Alastor, no! Sekai is too hyper, energetic, irritating and so on to make me even think about her as a significant other… Close friend, maybe, but not a lover. As I stated before, I'm an artist. I cannot fall in love in someone when I'm already with art… Oh, how melodramatic.

* * *

The rest of our meeting was pretty normal: Saionji-san keeping whole party alive, embarrassed two lovers and me, listening and also trying to keep them alive. Thankfully, Sekai managed to do all this work for me.

"Okay, we should go", she says suddenly, grabbing my arm and dragging me to exit. "You two require some time alone", she explained, smiling cheerfully.

"Yeah, good luck", I say without enthusiasm at all. "Could you please stop stretch my uniform, thank you", I say, a little irritated. Of course, I do not like it, but I unfortunately need it.

"Oh, sorry", she responds, letting my sleeve go. "And, what do you think?", she asks, smiling. Of course she must be talking about these two.

"They're both pretty shy. No way he's gonna confess to her, at least not now", I respond.

"Nah, you must believe in people", she says cheerfully.

"We'll see."

* * *

The rest of the day was pretty… Hmm, I would say, normal: Banters and quarrels with Sekai, impossible-to-understand teachers, learning something new about Saionji-san's friends(For example, Hikari's crush on Sawanaga or the fact that Nanami already has a boyfriend and plays basketball in school's team… Although the first info was confirmed as "secret" that should not be known by Taisuke-kun and Hikari has already told me that she'll tear me from limb to limb if I tell him).

And now, I'm waiting on train station. Katsura-san is, according to Sekai, her class representative and, because of this, she rides back home in later train. For some odd reason, I cannot find Itou-san. Where is he, actually?

Ah, finally I can localize him. He looks stunned or something, hard to tell… Something's not right with him. Maybe Katsura-san rejected him?

"Oi, Makoto!", I'm calling him. "Over here!", he seems confused, but looks like still can hear pretty well.

"Oh, hey.", he responds. Something's not right, but I can't tell, what exactly.

"So, how's the… Em, chat with Katsura-san?", he smiles. Good sign.

"I confessed… And it worked", Itou says. "We're officially a couple."

"Good to hear… So, you love her? Then why are you look like you've been seeing dead people?", I ask, trying to joke. He doesn't seem pleased with my attempts.

"This isn't related with Katsura-san", he responds coldly.

"Sorry then, if I offend you somehow. You just doesn't seem happy at all."

"Let's just cut this topic off, shall we?"

"Oh, one more thing. What's her name?", I ask, curious. "You… know her first name, don't you?"

"Yes. It's… Kotonoha.", for some odd reason, he looks embarrassed.

"Pretty name. No idea what it means in Japanese, but sounds good… Other topic: Have you gathered some information about Saionji-san?"

"Oh, sorry. I totally forgot about it.", he says, even more embarrassed than before.

"Nah, it's nothing. You have much time to do so, but now enjoy your… romantic moments with Katsura-san.", I answer, turning on my music player. "Out of curiosity, have you got any idea about dating?"

"Not really.", Itou answers, still embarrassed.

"Don't worry, I think I can help you a little."

"You?"

"Yeah. You see, from my observations I can assume that Katsura-san is really shy and introvert. You need to be very careful and gentle, and when I say "very", I mean… Nah, you get the point."

"I think so…"

And so our chatter was over again. Looks like I'm gonna regret it… But hell, maybe it'll be fun. Suddenly I get a text message. It's from Sekai.

"Care to lie in Dustbowl's sands?" I smile. She seems pretty confident.

"We'll see who will lie there", I answer, wondering.


	3. Chapter 3: Katsura's request

**And here it is, the new chapter. If you were waiting, sorry for the delay. Again, forgive me my English.**

**I've got some problems with my account, so something is not right... I hope this chapter will be clear to read. Enjoy.**

„You know, it's really weird to see character of my own imagination here, right before me.", I say, looking at guy who could be my twin. He even shares my three scars on left hand… But I do know he's totally different from me. Cynical, apathetic, after bitter-ended love. Casper Stratoavis. My avatar.

"Oh, I was just passing through. Don't mind me.", He responds, watching me carefully. "What are you going to do with this… mess?"

"First, I need to calm down… Good lord, what just happened?", I ask, totally confused. I can clearly see two corpses. One of them is Itou, horribly stabbed like pin cushion. The second one is Sekai, with throat sliced and her stomach cut open. Strangely, I don't feel any emotions, maybe only a slight disgust.

"Saionji killed Itou, than Katsura took her revenge.", My alter-ego smiles lightly. "Perfect ending of failed love triangle, I would say."

"What are you talking about? It's terrible… But… What's really happened?"

"It's the alternate dimension. Place where you never appeared."

"So you're saying just the fact that I'm here will cancel these murders?"

"Of course not. You must assure that everything will be alright… It may be a little painful for you."

"Sounds like great idea… But, of course, you're only a dream. You cannot be truly sure.", I say cautiously. My "evil twin" just bursts out laughing… Reminds me of Shion from Higurashi series.

"You can never be 100% sure, can you?", he responds with strange flash in his eyes… Than everything wipes away.

Was that a dream… Or the prophecy? He's right, I'll never be truly sure. I look at my watch. Two A.M. Good lord, kill me. Is there anything that can help me not waking up in the middle of a night? Suddenly my cellphone rings. What the… I don't know this number.

"Hello…?", I start.

"Is that Wala-san?", This voice seems familiar… What the… Katsura?

"Yes, Casper speaking… Who's on the other side?"

"Katsura Kotonoha. Hope I didn't wake you."

"Wake me? It's two o'clock during night, woman!", I respond, maybe a little too harshly.

"Oh, my sincerest apologies.", Looks like my reaction hurts her a little.

"Nah, it's me that should apology… But phoning at two o'clock? Shouldn't you sleep as well?"

"Saionji-san said that you'll be still on Internet.", Good Alastor, I kill you, Sekai.

"I'm afraid she doesn't know me that well.", I respond, trying to joking. "Anyway, what's the deal?"

"Would you mind if I ask you a favor…?", Oh, now it's getting interesting.

"It's depending what we are talking about…"

"Saionji-san said that you had a girlfriend before and… Maybe it sounds silly… But, um… Could you please help me with getting along well with Makoto-kun?", Yeah, I was expecting it. Nevertheless, it still was surprising.

"You want me to do what?"

"It's okay if you don't agree with helping me…"

"No, no, I'd be glad to help… But, Katsura-san? Please don't take the stuff Saionji-san says too seriously."

"Okay, thank you very much.", She seems very relieved with my agreement. Of course she seems, I've been recommended by Sekai Saionji. Too bad I don't have a slightest clue about dating. "Can we meet today at the rooftop?"

"Fine with me."

"Again, thank you very much and… Um, sorry for disturbing you. Good night."

"Yeah, good night.", I put my cellphone on the cupboard and start thinking how will I maim Sekai for this. "Tell me this isn't happening", I murmur to myself. Unfortunately for me, this isn't a dream anymore… To be honest, it's even worse than my previous dream.

In train, I've been sleeping, trying to recover from my nocturnal chat with Katsura-san.

"Looks like you haven't sleep well…", Itou says, looking at me with anxiety.

"Leeaave me alone, please…", I respond, yawning. "Saionji-san was phoning me all the night.", I lie without hesitation. I've got a feeling that Makoto wouldn't be happy from the fact that his girlfriend was phoning me at night. "She definitely should have less minutes…", I add, trying to sound authentic. Itou shrugs his arms, looks like he bought it.

"_Harahirama, Harahirama."_, Mechanical voice announces. Train stops and the door opens. I can see Katsura, walking with smile on her face. She greets us and sits next to Makoto. Itou immediately gains a few bright colors on his face, also a cheerful grin. I'm not gonna disturb them, so I'll exit real world in order to drown in world of music. Today's special: "Amok Run" by Kreator. Probably I'm looking stupid now, but I cannot prevent a smile coming at my face. I've never heard Mille Petrozza that angry and it makes me incredibly over the moon.

_My anger aims_

_At a different target now_

_I could have left, I could have fled_

_For now my name_

_Will forever be remembered_

_I am the bringer of light_

_To the living dead!_

Someone pokes me. I open my eyes. It's Itou. Looks like I've been repeating the song over and over again, until we got to our destination.

And so, we're walking to Sakakino once again. I can easily notice that something between Makoto and Katsura is not right… They seem to avoid each other. Probably it's because of their shyness… Oh well, in school me and Sekai need to discuss our strategy in getting them along well.

"Morning, sleepy-heads!", Sekai greets us with this annoying smile of hers. I immediately remind myself about my night chatter with Katsura… And now I forgot about my plan "Maim Sekai".

"Saionji-san, can we talk?", I ask, trying to keep my cool. She raise one of her eyebrows, but doesn't say a thing. Itou reasonably walks away. "What's the meaning of this?"

"What do you mean?", She seems confused.

"Since when Katsura-san knows my phone number? Since when I had a girlfriend? Since when I'm the best candidate to learn her something about dating?", I keep asking.

"Oh, this?", She's trying to mask her embarrassment with smile, but I can clearly see I hit the right spot.

"Explain yourself.", I say condescendingly. She blushes a little.

"I… I just thought that you would be happy to help her…"

"But I don't know anything about dating. How can I help her?"

"It's… It's…", Sekai blushes more and more. She's starting to resemble beetroot.

"You're red, Saionji-san.", I say with open satisfaction. Suddenly she slaps me, leaving a red mark on my cheek.

"_Baka!"_, She yells fiercely and I can tell she's really pissed off. I've never seen her that angry before. Even more suddenly, she calms down and looks even more embarrassed. "I'm… I'm sorry.", She apologizes.

"There's no need for apologizing, I deserved that.", I respond, trying to make it all good-looking again. Surprisingly, she has tears in her eyes. Gah, why me? "Hey, don't cry. Come on, be a big girl.", I say cheerfully. And then… This happens.

Sekai suddenly hugged me. Just in time Itou came to communicate that we should hurry if we don't want to be late… Along with the rest of the team. I could see their faces and, boy, it was pretty funny: Hikari and Nanami looked pretty shocked, Sawanaga thumbed up with smile, possibly congratulating me getting a girlfriend, Kiyoura raised her eyebrow, but Itou toped them all with his "WTF?" expression.

"Saionji-san. Let. Me. Go. Please.", I say very slowly, trying to exit her steel grip. Nothing, it's like trying to push a wall. Looks like I have to use drastic methods. "Oh my God, is that Sniper cosplay?", I yell with full admiration.

"Where is he?", She responds, rapidly turning her head… And sees her friends. Now we're like two adorable beetroots. Awkward silence continues for a few minutes.

"Sekai, what are you doing?", Finally, Kiyoura breaks it with slightly surprised voice. Saionji jumps away from me, loosening the grip and letting me breathe.

"It's not like you think it is!", She responds quickly, waving her hands rapidly.

"I gotta say, I'm pretty surprised too.", Sawanaga says. "I thought you and Makoto…".

"I told you many times that Sekai isn't my girlfriend!", Itou responds angrily.

"Neither is mine.", I add. "Okay, maybe it looked pretty confusing… But… Emm…" What to say? "She had a problem and I had an… Emm… Opportunity to comfort her."

"Oh, yes, yes!", Looks like Saionji also wants to explain this. "Exactly! My… My grandpa unfortunately died yesterday and Casper-kun wanted to help me stop crying.", She lies, of course.

"Still, it looked highly suspicious.", Setsuna seems to not buy Sekai's story. Of course she doesn't, she clearly is the most level-headed in the group.

"Ah, we need to hurry if we don't want to be late!", Thankfully for Sekai and me, Hikari changes the topic. Truly, we need to hurry.

Thankfully, no one seemed to talk about our setback, so we could breathe a sigh of relief.

I looked at my watch. It was a time for my meeting with Katsura.

"Alrighty then, it's time", I say to Sekai. She smiles slyly. Impossible, looks like she has already forgotten about this… Improbable event.

"Let's hope you'll be right. Good luck, you'll need it.", She responds, patting me on the shoulder. At least she's sincere: I WILL need tons of good luck.

I exit the classroom and head through Katsura's classroom. If I remember, it's number four… And yes, I can see her silhouette… But she isn't alone. She's surrounded by four other girls… This isn't looks good; they're apparently picking her on.

"Of course Makoto isn't your boyfriend. Considering how an outcast you are…", One of them says. Ouch, that's gonna hurt.

"Besides, he doesn't like girls that has boobs as big as their head.", Another one adds. Ouch!

"No, no…", Katsura's trying to defend herself. "He confessed to me yesterday. You can ask him if you want."

"Are you trying to lie?", The third one says angrily.

"I don't think she would be able to do that.", The last one says. Looks like she's the leader, granted her voice and attitude. She has brown hair worn in a ponytail. "Don't forget that Katsura is incredibly innocent and helpless. She wouldn't be able to lie.", Okay, that sarcasm was quite obvious.

"No, it's not really like that…", Long haired girl tries to respond, but she clearly doesn't have arguments. I think it's enough.

"Excuse me, can I interrupt you for a moment?", I ask politely, closing in. Let's hope my significant height will help me in order to break through these bullies. One of them looks a little bit scared, but others don't seem to be affected. Their leader gives me a sour look.

"Who are you?", She asks rudely, a little too rudely for me.

"I've noticed that you are, to use harsh words, bully Katsura-san", I respond, smiling. "I'm afraid I cannot allow you to continue.", I add. The ponytail girl doesn't look moved even a little bit.

"It's none of your business", she growls.

"I'm afraid it is.", I respond. Teasing this girl is actually quite funny.

"Casper-kun, there's no need to act too rapidly", Katsura interrupts our visual encounter.

"They're apparently bullying you, Katsura-san. I wouldn't call it other way. ", I say and I'm serious. It's not all right when others gang up on weaker ones.

"Tsk", The leader girl hisses angrily. "Let's go, girls. I don't want to argue with this moron. Stupid foreigners…", And then, in this strange cliffhanger, the team walks away.

"Thanks… But there wasn't an urge to…", Katsura starts talking.

"As I said before, these four were bullying you… Who are they, if I may ask?", I interrupt her.

"The girl with a ponytail is Katou Otome, the girl that was scared is Mori Kumi, the one that stood the closest to Otome is Obuchi Minami and the last one is Koizumi Natsumi.", She starts pointing.

"Gotta remember them, blasted delinquents in skirts."

"May I ask you why you are here?"

"You requested a meeting, don't you remember?", I ask, surprised. She seems to forget about our chatter.

"Oh, true! I totally forgot, sorry.", She starts apologizing yet again. Gah, I will never understand Japanese.

"So, how can I help you, Katsura-san?", I ask. We're at the rooftop.

"Well…", She has apparent problems with speaking. Is she blushing? "I ask you if you can help me to get along well with Makoto-kun…"

"Yeah, I agreed."

"So… What should I do?", This question catches me off guard.

"Emm… Have you got a boyfriend before, Katsura-san?", I ask cautiously. She shakes her head in "No" fashion. "Okay, let's play it other way… Have you ever been… How to name it… Have you ever observed that other boys were looking at you in… You know."

"Yes, kind of… But I'm afraid they were just dirty looks that boys give to… Girls with big chests.", Katsura blushes rapidly. Oh well, she's the victim of most common male fetish. That would also explain why Otome's gang is picking her on.

"I see…", I respond cautiously.

"And you, Casper-kun? What do you think about me?", She asks rapidly, catching me off guard once again. I give her a look… Long, beautiful hair. Big eyes and mentioned before large breasts. I can feel that I'm blushing.

"Well… You are very pretty and such… But, you're not my type. Sorry.", I lie, smiling. I don't have my type, probably because I wasn't concerned with girls that way… Okay, a few exceptions, but usually I was rejected or plain ignored, so I learned to forget about girls. "Anyway, you're Itou's girlfriend, so it wouldn't be nice to trying to take you back, don't you think?", I say, allowing myself to make a small smirk. Katsura nods, smiling.

"Thank you.", She says.

"Don't thank me yet, we still have a way to go. If we want to make sure that you and Makoto will be getting along well, we need to… Hmm, practice.", I say after a short stop.

"Practice?"

"Since you've never had a boyfriend, you need to understand boy as another person. Let's start with most important thing: You and your boyfriend are on equal terms. There isn't such thing as "dominant side". Both yours and your boyfriend's needs are important. Remember it, Katsura-san, as the strongest rule in your relationship.", I explain, trying to sound as a person acknowledged with the topic. The rest of the break passed pretty quickly, when I concentrated on explaining the basics of romantic relationship. Most of this stuff was one of the most ridiculous things I have ever said to a girl. On the other hand, after we part ways, her smile was a pretty nice reward for tiring me horribly. I need to find some kind of e-book about psychology; it will help me continue these unusual "lessons". To be honest, I'm starting to enjoy this task that Sekai gave me: Katsura is a very clever and easy-to-teach student.

"So, how's the first lesson with Katsura-san?", Sekai asks as we getting back from school. We usually part ways about halfway to the train station. I noticed that Itou and Katsura are absent.

"You know, it wasn't that bad. I think I may be even able to forgive you for getting me involved in this mess.", I respond, smiling. Suddenly, smile from my face disappears. "Do you know that Katsura-san is bullied by other girls from her class?", I ask seriously. Saionji stops being cheerful.

"Yeah, I know.", She responds after a while, apparently a little bit sad. "I asked Otome-chan to stop this, but she's vengeful and jealous… I'm not sure if my attempts will help with anything."

"I encounter her and her flunkies during large break. Tsundere like hell, hard to talk with… She apparently is jealous because of Itou."

"That's because she and Makoto-kun used to go to the same junior high school.", Sekai explains. I see, that solves everything. "They were best friends since then and still keep friendly relationship."

"Does he know about her gang picking on Katsura-san?"

"Sadly, no. He also doesn't want to believe others… He's never seen her bullying Katsura-san.

"So, if we want to make them happy, we need to break Makoto and Otome's relationship?", I ask without enthusiasm.

"Let's hope we can avoid it.", She says, back with her smile. We part ways on the crossroad with saying "Goodbye" and now I'm alone. I turn on my MP3-Player. Ah yes, "Amok Run" once again.

Another day in Sakakino, cleared.


	4. Chapter 4: Otome's fall

[b]So, here it is, the fourth chapter of my fanfic. We're going downhill from here, people. Of course, I do apologize for my English. Enjoy.[/b]

"Well, well... Looks like I'm starting to get insane", I say jokingly, looking at another visitor in my head. It's a medium-height blonde man with blue eyes and pleasant smile, but his SS uniform speaks for itself. Himler Gunsche, antagonist and First General of Alastor, Undisputed Ruler of Purgatory.  
"[i]Maybe a little, but does it matter?[/i]", He respond with delicate German accent. "[i]You are an artist anyway, you need a little bit of insanity[/i]."  
"Truly, you're right... But I do believe you've got here some important business, haven't you?"  
"[i]Apparently. Herr Stratoavis ordered me to show you another important info about incident in Sakakino Gakuen.[/i]"  
"Go on then, Herr Gunsche.", He giggles lightly.  
"[i]Basically, I have got a full script of events from alternate dimension. Here it is.[/i]", He gives me piece of paper with text, of course in Polish. I take a quick look and can feel that one of my eyebrows raises a little. I take another look... And now I'm probably looking like an idiot, with such a surprised expression. "Nie mówisz poważnie... Prawda?", I say in Polish, stuttering. He gives me a slight smile and disappears in flurry of flames.

Good lord, I cannot believe what I've just read. According to Himler's informations, Itou had sex with every single girl in his class. Bastard was unfaithful, but ultimately returned to Katsura... Too bad that before that he dumped pregnant Saionji and even said that she should get an abortion. Possibly in affection, Sekai stabbed Makoto... And the rest is clear. Also the text says that Katsura was mentally unstable from the very beginning, but events from her failed relationship with Itou triggered her permanent yandere state. I get chills every time I read it. It seems so ridicolous and unlikely and yet... I do believe fictional characters in my head. Funny, isn't it? My cellphone emits a sound of Kira's luagh. Looks like I got a text message. It's from Katsura. "Can we meet at the rooftop on the big break?" Oh well, it's my job after all. "Of course, no problem", I respond and resume walking to a train station. I greet Makoto, walking at the same train. Despite being a bastard in that dimension, here he's still just another casual high school student... My task is to keep that intact.  
"Harhirama. Harahirama", Mechanical voice announces. Train's door opens, but strangely, I cannot find Katsura. She seems to... not be here. Itou looks worried. Maybe he knows what's the deal...? Nah, I will ask him later. We're walking to school, without saying anything to each other. I never thought that silence can be so annoying...  
"May I ask you a question?", I ask. Makoto gives me a curious look. "Out of curiosity, where have you and Katsura-san been yesterday?", He seems to be slightly nervous.  
"Oh... She had class rep duties to do. I thought I can help her...", He answers, but something in his eyes tells me that this isn't true.  
"I see.", I say after a while. He apparently notices that I'm not satisfied with his answer, but doesn't say a thing. On school gates I can see something like... Is that a bra? Pretty big, I would say. It's pink and after all pretty casual.  
"Itou-san, would you mind taking a look?", I say, a little surprised.  
"Yeah, what is... The hell?", He seems to be surprised as well. A few meters further we can see group of students, apparently looking at something in the middle of a circle. Noticing Katou's ponytail isn't a good thing.  
"I do believe it has something to do with Katsura-san", I say quietly. Makoto looks concerned and puzzled.  
"You mean this...", I can see he's blushing while pointing at pink bra. "Could this belong to Kotonoha?"  
"Since when you're calling yourself by your first names?", I ask, surprised. He, however, doesn't have time to answer, as we can hear Otome's voice:  
"Ladies and gentlemen, probably you'll never have such an opportunity to watch such a beautiful girl that closely. Go on, take a look at beauty of Katsura Kotonoha.", Mocking tones in her voice are clearly hearable, accompanied by laughters of her flunkies. We can hear also another voice, voice of mentioned Katsura. She begs to not look at her and tries to break grip of Otome's gang, trying to hide her... Oh, for the love of...!  
"Katou-san!", I yell. Other students give me curious looks. Otome smiles mockingly.  
"Well, well, who do we have here?", She says with waggish tone. Apparently she doesn't notice Itou who just stands shocked.  
"Damned deliquent! You're taking it definitely too far, woman!", I growl, giving her a hateful glance. She doesn't seem to be moved at all. "Maybe I am... But is there anything you can do to stop me?", She apparently has great fun.  
"Give back Katsura-san her bra, for God's sake. It's wrong to do stuff like this.", I explain, trying to be cool. Of course, vision of me slamming Katou's face into wall is tempting, but... Let's just say it's out of my range of abilities. Considering amount of spectators...  
"My, my, you truly are concerned about your slutty girlfriend, aren't you?", She says, giving me triumphant look.  
"Enough of this nonsense.", I growl, taking a few steps forward. One of the boys watching this "show" is trying to stop me. "Out of my way, I'm gonna show this liar what I think about people like her.", I say with angry voice, but my opponent doesn't seem to be phased. He has short brown hair and wears glasses.  
"There's no need to intervene", He says calmly.  
"No need? Poor girl is exposed by half of the damn school!", I respond fiercely, but he just smiles and shows a person walking towards us. It seems to be a teacher and looking by his face, he doesn't seem to be really happy.  
"What's the meaning of this?", He asks, demanding explanations. Boy with brown hair takes a step.  
"I do believe Katou-san is abusing Katsura-san.", He says calmly. Did he just...?  
"Ashikaga, you traitor!", Otome screams, unwillingly admitting her deeds. The guy named Ashikaga just smiles.  
"I'm sorry, Katou-san, but there was a certain action to be comitted.", He responds. Teacher crosses his arms.  
"Young lady, I do believe you're in big trouble.", He says. Crowd of students suddenly vanishes, leaving Otome, Katsura and Otome's flunkies alone. Katou's gang takes a few steps back from their leader. Who would guess...? "Please come with me.", The teacher says. Ponytail girl swears quietly and follows sensei, leaving me, Ashikaga, Itou, Katsura and Otome's gang. Katou gives me and brown-haired boy hateful glances before disappearing in school.  
"Kotonoha! Are you allright?", Makoto finally wakes up from his shock and runs to Katsura, trying to help her cover from the others.  
"Is that her boyfriend?", Ashikaga asks curiously.  
"Yeah. As you can see, he's pretty slow.", I answer jokingly. "Oh, and by the way, I'm Wala Casper."  
"Ashikaga Yuuki.", We're exchanging handshakes. "Thanks for helping, but... Why Katou-san name you a traitor?", My new acquaintance looks embarassed by something.  
"I do pretty bad things for her... But certain borders shouldn't be crossed. Never."  
"Certainly. Let's take this bra quickly.", I say, looking at pink element of garment.

"I cannot believe it.", Makoto says, still shocked. We're at the canteen, along with girls and Sawanaga. Katsura asked to postpone our meeting for a while, so I have a free big break for myself.  
"I'm sorry that you had to learn about it that way.", Sekai apologizes. "We're trying to tell you..."  
"But you didn't want to listen.", Hikari ends.  
"Still... How could she actually do such an atrocity to Katsura-san?"  
"Dude, we were telling you all the time that Katou-san is a bully.", Sawanaga says. "I know it hurts, but I'm afraid it's not the Katou-san you knew before Sakakino.", Makoto seems depressed. Oh well, partially it's also his fault for not believing his friends.  
"She's said to be suspended, but it's only a gossip.", Nanami adds, exchanging glances with Saionji. Sekai nods in "Yes" fashion. Suddenly her cellphone rings. "Oh, excuse me, it's my boyfriend.", She says, leaving canteen.  
"So, um, Makoto-kun... Wanna go with us to Radish? There's going to be a large party.", Sekai says, summoning her smile back.  
"What's the Radish?", I ask, confused.  
"Oh, it's a restaurant near school where I and Setsuna are working.", She explains.  
"Women working there are wearing incredibly sexy outfits!", Taisuke, pretty predictably, starts to drool.  
"Don't get any funny ideas, Sawanaga.", Kiyoura says quietly, smirking. "Maybe you'll go with us?", Sekai asks me.  
"Well...", To go or not to go, that's the question. Apparently it's Kanroji-san's idea to cheer Itou up, but... "Nah, I'll do it... But I'm afraid I'm gonna only disturb you there."  
"And why's that?", Kuroda-san asks, surprised.  
"I don't think I'm going to like this place..."  
"Restaurant with young boys is about several alleys further, if that's the problem.", Sawanaga says, to my irritation.  
"Since when do you know this kind of information?", Setsuna asks with shabby smile. Taisuke starts turning red, he's obviously embarassed. Sekai and Hikari bursts out laughing, also Makoto smiles a little. Looks like the idea starts to work. "But what about Katsura-san?", I want to say, but I bite my tongue. No, I'm not gonna blow up his good mood. "Allrighty then, let's go!", I say.  
"Hey, that's mine line!", Sekai responds with giggle.  
"Looks like you two are getting along well.", Hikari says. Saionji gives her a smile.  
"Of course we do. We're friends, aren't we?", I just nod my head, listening to Sekai's speech about friendship. Of course we're friends... And better it stays that way.

Sawanaga was right, waitresses in Radish are actually wearing pretty stunning outfits. I feel I'm blushing a little. Gah, it's so embarassing to stay in the entrance and blush. I take a few steps, just to bump into waitress... What the...?  
"S-Saionji-san?", I ask, surprised. Wasn't she with us? She smiles cheerfully. "Oh, it's my turn to work.", She explains. "But how did you managed to change your garment so quickly? You were with us only a few moments earlier."  
"Months of practice.", She giggles and gets back to serving other customers. I gotta say, she looks pretty in this uniform... No, damnit, compose yourself! Your love is art, you cannot waste time on... other people. You cannot serve them in any other way than to entertain them by writing your stories... You're pretty much useless when you're not doing it.  
"Wala-san, what's wrong with you?", Sawanaga's voice brings me back into realm of the living beings. Did I've just heard Himler's giggle...?  
"Excuse me, I need to go out for a while.", I say after a short while, sighing. They give me worried looks, but don't stop. I go out and take a chunk of fresh air... Oh, how delightful.  
"[i]Are you done yet, Herr Wala?[/i]", As I thought, this damned SS-man is up to something. He smiles in his casual manner.  
"What's this time?", I ask, irritated.  
"[i]Herr Amadeo, would you mind...?[/i]"  
"[b]Don't name me Amadeo, goddamnit![/b]", The powerful, yet cheerful voice says from the abyss of my mind. Ah, yes. Skull instead of a human head, black armor, red spikes on shoulders, armored boots and two-barreled shotgun. Demon named Amadeo, alias Night Shooter, appears in front of me. "[b]Hey, how d'ya doin'?[/b]", He greets me cheerfully. Good lord, he resembles too much of a Sekai.  
"Fine, thanks for concern.", I respond. I can see he's holding some papers. "Let me guess, more trouble?"  
"[b]I dunno, me and Murphy found this pretty entertaining.[/b]", How can he actually smile? He doesn't even have a proper face to begin with! Oh well, blame my sick imagination.  
"[i]Herr Amadeo recently has found interesting informations about Herr Ashikaga, the one you met today.[/i]", Himler explains. "[i]I do believe it can be pretty shocking for you...[/i]"  
"Just gimme that.", Skull-headed demon gives me papers. I take a sketchy look at it. "So... He was included in one of the alternate dimensions as the part of love triangle."  
"[i]Certainly.[/i]"  
"What's so shocking about it?", I take a sip of my coke.  
"[i]Keep reading, I do believe you will get the idea.[/i]", Blonde smiles and starts smoking a menthol cigarette.  
"So in this dimension Sawanaga was a bastard and blackmailed Ashikaga for... Crossdressing?", To be honest, I didn't expect that. "You think I will believe every of your words just because you're characters made by me?", I ask without enthusiasm.  
"[b]We've got the photos of "Yuu". That's the name that nerd used when he was crossdressing.[/b]", Amadeo says, also smoking. Is it a Cuban cigar...? Gah, nevermind. I take a look while taking another gulp of coke... And then suddenly spitting it out, shocked. Sweet Jesus, that girl was beautiful, but... Something's not right about her.  
"You're expecting me to believe you?", I say after all. Himler giggles. "[i]On the last page there is a photo of Herr Ashikaga as himself. Compare them.[/i]", He says with pleasant voice. Okay, let's take a look. Another... One more...  
"Sweet Alastor. This is ridiculous.", I say after a while, dropping the papers.  
"[i]I shall report this compliment to Master. I do believe he will be pleased[/i].", Himler ignores my shock and keeps smiling.  
"But... Allright, it's weird and all... But why do you showing me this?", A shadow crossed between SS-man's face.  
"[i]Herr Ashikaga was beaten to death with a crowbar by Frau Katsura.[/i]", Blonde says after a short while.  
"And you're saying that this can happen here too?"  
"[i]Certainly.[/i]"  
"Tsk. Wonderful. So it's up to me to keep both Saionji and Ashikaga safe from Katsura-san?"  
"[b]Kind of.[/b]", Amadeo gives me an apologizing smile. "[b]Don't worry, buddy, we're gonna support you with everything we can find.[/b]"  
"Thank you... Although it's weird to thank SS-man for anything.", I say after a while. Himler shrugs his arms.  
"[i]That is my duty to be a villain. I do understand your concern.[/i]", He says, turning on his feet. "[i]Let's go, Herr Amadeo.[/i]"  
"[b]Stop calling me Amadeo, for Pete's sake![/b]", Skull-headed demon yells fiercely, following him. I'm alone... And yet I can hear someone's voice... It appears to be girl's voice.  
"Wala-san! Wala-san!"  
"Whoa!", I say after a short stop. Since when does Saionji appears in my head? Am I really that insane?  
...No, it appears that Sekai is holding me. Did I pass out?  
"Oh, thank goodness, you're okay", She says, hugging me tightly. "Gah, let me go, woman!", I respond, blushing. She smiles.  
"That's so you, Casper-kun.", She says, giggling. She helps me to stand up. I can see that the others are watching us curiously. "Nothing happened, really...", I'm trying to explain, but Sawanaga interrupts me.  
"Nothing happened? Dude, you've fainted just because!", He says and I can say he's really worried. Could he possibly be that kind of jerk that Himler described...? Oh well, maybe I've drank too much cola. "Maybe we should go in?", Hikari says.  
"Yeah, definitely.", Makoto adds. He's dead serious... I've never seen him like this before, not even when he was talking with Katou-san today after that incident with bra. Hoo boy, he promptly said that he, quote, "don't want to know a bitch like you". Half of the hall observed how Otome bursted into tears and than ran away. Serves her right, she truly crossed the border.  
"Besides, you've missed the custard cake that Hikari made.", Sekai says. "It's her speciality."  
"Cake... Right away, ma'am.", I say, saluting and entering the restaurant. We've had pretty pleasant time. Everyone was smiling, we were exchanging jokes, I was used as a Polish language teacher... Later Katsura-san joined us. Itou apparently becomes incredibly happy around her. Well, partially it's my and Saionji's fault that these two are together. We're exchanging smiles. Everything is going smooth, no one snaps, there's no foretold by my imaginations's violence. It's suspiciously calm. Too suspiciously... Oh God, it's late.  
"I'll better go.", I say, getting up. ""My parents will kill me, I'm already an hour late."  
"Oh, really? Can't you stay for a little longer?", Saionji asks sadly.  
"My apologizes, Saionji-san, but certain forces in the world shouldn't be startled.", I say with a slight smile.  
"Oh, it's news time.", Katsura says, turning her glare into small TV hanging from the ceiling. "Oh, why's Katou-san in television? What happe... Oh, oh my God...", She says and she is absolutely terrified. I give a curious look... And freeze. Why's Otome's photo gray? Is this a black ribbon in the corner...? Good lord.  
"[i]Tragedy on Sakakino Gakuen train station.[/i]", Hikari reads and with every word she's becoming paler and paler. "[i]16-year old student... ran over by a train.[/i]", I look around. Katsura and Sekai have tears in their eyes, Hikari also starts to cry. Sawanaga is totally shocked, Kiyoura, surprisingly, is only mildly surprised and Itou... He doesn't seem to mind that an old friend of his got massacred by a train. Is he... Lord, is he smirking?  
"[i]Apparently Katou Otome was pushed from platform by unknown perpetrators.[/i]", He reads quietly. No one responds. Everyone's shocked. Only Itou and Kiyoura doesn't seem to be really surprised... Did they know something? Did they... Could possibly one of them i s guilty of this murder?  
Suddenly, my phone rings, breaking the silence.  
"I gotta go now.", I say and run from Radish in hurry. Is it really true?  
Is Otome really... Dead?


	5. Chapter 5: Karen's wish

**There you go, another chapter. Hope you will enjoy... And let's hope that there's no errors(I changed my application for writing, so I do believe it will be allright.**

**And also, we're starting an obligatory love between OC and "SD" character. Once again, enjoy and forgive me my English.**

Usually, in Monday mornings Sakakino Gakuen is crowded with students and teachers. Usually, it's a incredibly noisy place where you cannot even think for a moment because someone needs to talk to you or simply want to tease you.

However, this Monday wasn't usual. I would even say, it's the only Monday like that. After all... As Himler said, opportunity to bury remains of school bully in a ground doesn't happen everyday.

It's not even funny. Otome Katou really is dead.

I've seen them... This remains. Amadeo was "kind" enough to drag her into my mind. I thought I'm gonna puke.

When I was eight, I was walking back with my Mum from the church when we approached a man, lying on the pavement with his face down. We thought that he's drunk... It turned out that poor guy kicked the bucket(It really did happen - Author). However, this was different. He was in one piece. There wasn't even a slightest trace of blood. In Otome's case... Let's just say Amadeo was forced to carry her in a bag.

"**You know, I don't want to pick every piece alone**.", He explained. And when I thought that there's nothing more that can break my weekend, Himler appeared with papers, with grim expression. I remember our chatter.

"_It is the first time it happened_.", He said after giving me the documents.

"I'm not sure I understand."

"_It is the first time that Frau Katou died_."

"So you say that she remained alive in all dimensions?", I asked.

"_That is correct, although_...", SS-man paused for a while. "_Murder like this happened a few times before_."

"Go on."

"_I do believe total number of casualities equals five: Herr Itou once, Frau Katsura and Frau Saionji twice_."

"Who was the murderer?"

"_Surprisingly, Frau Saionji, every time. She fell from platform twice while attempting to push Frau Katsura. She did achieved her goal twice, although one of the attempts cost her her life. Once Herr Itou saved Frau Katsura at cost of his life_." I was sitting in a deep amazement. Could possibly Sekai...? Could she...?

"_We have got three potential culprits. The first one is obviously Frau Saionji, although I do believe she was a good friend with Frau Katou, so it is unlikely to happen. The second one is Frau Katsura_."

"You think she could snap so early?", I asked cautiously.

"_There is a possibility_."

"And who's the third culprit?"

"_Herr Itou_."

Silence. I remembered his smirk when he was reading info about Katou-san's death.

"Are you certain?"

"_Yes_."

"**There's also a fourth possibility**.", Amadeo interrupted us, with cigar in his jaw. "**Suicide**."

"_I would not draw such conclusions so early_.", Himler answered slowly. "_The idea of suicide is very unlikely. I do not believe that being suspended in school would trigger such an action_."

"**You can never be so sure**.", Skull-headed demon threw a burned cigar away. "**Let's not forget that Itou called her a bitch**."

"_Ah yes, he truly did_."

"**They were good friends since junior high school. I'm sure that she had a crush on him and was jealous of Katsura**."

"_No no, Frau Katou and her followers were picking Frau Katsura on even without an... Let say, "influence" from Herr Itou. I do believe they were jealous because of Frau Katsura's wealth and body_."

"Wealth?", I asked curiously.

"_Yes, Frau Katsura's parents are very successful in terms of money. She also has a younger sister_."

"I see... Let's say that this murder was commited because someone is determined to take care of Katsura-san, even if it means to actually kill or harm someone."

"**So that way of thinking narrows our circle of suspects to two, Itou and Katsura**.", Amadeo said, pondering.

"_No, it does not_.", Himler retaliated, surprising both me and Night Shooter.

"What do you mean?"

"_Frau Saionji is determined to pair Frau Katsura and Herr Itou. There is a slight possibility that she could took care of Frau Katou in this cruel way_."

"**SS-man says that throwing someone under train is cruel while doing a mass genocide on millions of Jews**.", Amadeo said with innocent smile.

"_I do believe that not every SS-man was actually a cruel beast. We were simply... subjected to indoctrination_.", Himler answered calmly although his smile dissapeared after mentioning the Holocaust.

"Stop it, you two.", I said, irritated. "I need both you and every other character that can help me. It isn't a good time for arguing...", I sighed. "Back to the topic... If we assume that that crime was commited because X was determined to eliminate tormentors of Katsura-san, who possibly could be the next victim?"

"_Frau Obuchi and Frau Koizumi, less likely Frau Kumi_.", Blonde answered after a while.

"**And why's that**?", Amadeo asked, surprised. Someone in the abyss of my mind chuckled softly.

"You truly are potrayed as dense for a reason, Night Shooter.", Mentioned man said, appearing on top of a heavily-armored tank. He looked like he was in his mid thirties. He had brown, buzz cut hair and pale, azure eyes. Samuel Lucifer Beelzebub Ahriman Cerber Pluto Leviathan Lacus Tiamath Phantom, simply Samuel to protect my tongue from twisting. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Enlight us, Mr. Phantom.", I say, rubbing my temple.

"Just call me Samuel, kid. But okay, let's go. Haven't you notice that Miss Kumi is significantly less unpleasant towards Miss Katsura?"

"_You say Frau Kumi was forced to act that way_?", Himler asks, surprised.

""Forced" is a really hard word. Let's say she agreed to do it because she didn't want to be rejected."

"That's interesting...", I said after a while. Phantom was one of my fresher characters, but I didn't expect him to be a speaking man. He's still undeveloped... But let's back to the topic. "I do believe I can take a look about her and tell you more after observations."

"**You can do what**?", Amadeo asks. "**Is that really possible to... leave your creator's mind**?"

"Characters that doesn't have really much of a backstory or aren't well developed tend to suffer from that.", Samuel explained. "In fact, we are still a thought, maybe complex, but a thought. Also, Miss Kumi is beginning writer and does have one original character invented already. Perhaps I can ask mentioned character about Miss Kumi and return with some first-hand informations."

No, seriously, stop reading it. It's getting ludicrous.

Wait... Did I really write that?

"Okay, if you can do it, go and return quickly.", I said after a while. Phantom saluted and dissapeared in his vehicle, heavily-armored tank.

Could my own imaginations can help me find out who's behind Katou-san's death? Did I really think that? Am I really that insane?

I smile to myself, correcting the tie. Himler is right, I do need my own insanity. This won't end good... But I don't care. Now I'm occupied with only one thing, Katou-san's funeral.

Of course I am invited. All students and teachers were invited. Since it's truly an event(although unpleasant one), no one wants to miss it.

Gah, I'm getting cynical. The truth is, I cannot really even look at the mirror. I despised Otome and her gang. I knew her for such a short time and yet I've managed to truly hate that girl. And know she's gone. Is that right?

For funeral I decided to wear my grey suit with blue tie, with additional artifical rose. Sometimes I tend to joke that I will wear that thing only on my own funeral. Partially I was right: Funeral, but not mine.

I don't like suits. They're rigid, uncomfortable and definitely a little trashy. I don't feel like myself in this thing. To makes things worse, a suit-like thing is an obligatory school uniform in Sakakino. However, suits are made for special occasions. Like funerals.

I make sure to assure that my tie will stay where it should be(Did I mention I hate ties?) and exits home.

I'm sitting in the train, wondering. Why Katou-san? Oh, the answer is blatantly obvious, she was the leader. So, if Samuel is correct, the next victim will be Obuchi-san, as the follower the most devoted to her leader. Then, Koizumi-san and finally, Kumi-san. Of course there is always a possibility that police will catch the murderer and therefore, the fog of fear will go away.

I've realised after a while that I don't know anything about funerals in Japan. Let's hope I will not do something that is considered inadequate.

I cannot find Itou. Why he isn't in a train?

"_Harahirama. Harahirama."_, The mechanical voice announces. I can see Katsura. She's in mournful attire and doesn't smile. She notices me a gives me a slight "Good morning" while sitting next to me. We're not talking to each other, sitting in complete silence. Finally, we're arriving at this fatal train station and leave the train.

We're walking in silence. Katsura-san is clearly sad and not in a mood for a cheerful talk. Of course. Even if Otome bullied her, she was still her classmate. It's always sad to lose someone, no matter who he or she is actually.

After a while, we can see four people: Sekai, Setsuna, Nanami and some guy whom I do not know. Probably he's Kanroji's boyfriend.

"Hey, everyone.", I say, giving a slight smile. They're greeting us. "I do believe we don't know each other.", I say to other boy. "Wala Casper, nice to meet you."

"Kasanoin Kyouichi, pleased to make your acquaintance.", We're exchanging handshakes. "Too bad we're meeting in such circumstances."

"We've heard about Katou-san's death in the radio.", Nanami adds quietly. "I still cannot believe... What happened."

"We are all sharing this pain.", Setsuna says, but some strange feeling tells me she's completely allright with this situation. I give her a slight look. She seems to be emotionless as always... "No one deserves such cruel death.", She seems to speak sincerely.

"Truly, getting run by a train... Why someone could actually do such thing?", Sekai says.

"Who knows?", I answer after a while of silence. "Humans are complicated beings and sometimes they tend to... break."

"Are you suggesting something?", Saionji asks seriously.

"Possibly, it was someone who has shattered mind... Or simply enjoys killing. This kind of people sadly exists.", I answer. "Serial killers that kill only for a sake of their own entertainment... They're everywhere. In Japan, in Poland, in USA, simply everywhere."

"You say that some loony pushed Katou-san?", Kasanoin asks, a little confused.

"Perhaps. It's hard to tell, actually the culprit is still free."

"Now when you mention it, it's pretty creepy.", Nanami says, while shivering.

"Changing the topic...", I say to Sekai. "Do you maybe know where Itou is?"

"From what I've heard from his younger sister, he's got fever.", Saionji answers. "Too bad he can't be at Katou-san's funeral. After all, they were good friends." Yeah, they were, until we kicked into with plan of pairing Makoto and Katsura-san. Then everything went downhill.

"We should go.", Setsuna says, starting walking towards school. "It's time."

"Yeah, let's go."

It's silent here.

I'm watching. Watching with others. I can see Hikari, Ashikaga, Sawanaga, also Otome's flunkies. They're crying and are noisy in general. Did they really like her that much or is it just a game?

Gah, I'm definitely too cynical. I need to get rid of this, it's troublesome.

Others also either cry(or at least sob) or stand in deadly silence. All this eyes keep tracking the course of coffin with Katou-san's remains. The coffin is slowly moving into digged grave. I can see a woman that is crying, cuddled into her husband. They're probably Otome's parents. I pity them. It's... Painful to actually outlive your own child. They're accompanied by a girl that is probably Katou-san's sister. She has two pigtails, big brown eyes and brown hair, just like her sister. We're accidentally making an eye contact. Her eyes are full of hatred and rage and I understand it. Someone killed her sister, she vows revenge... But isn't it beyond her abilities? What she can do actually about it?

Stop it, Casper. You need to learn how this world works.

Suddenly I can see a policeman in a crowd. This isn't a good sign... He closes to our group.

"Are you Kotonoha Katsura?", He asks long-haired girl. She nods her head in "Yes", she's clearly surprised. "You're arrested on suspicion of murder of Katou Otome. You have the right to remain silent." He pulls out handcuffs from his pocket and puts them on her hands.

"But... It's a mistake...", She starts saying, scared, but policeman simply pushes her through a crowd.

"Did he... Arrest her?", Sekai, standing next to me, looks shocked.

"Apparently... She's a suspect in a case.", I answer after a while. The others looked shocked as well, only Kiyoura doesn't seem to mind. She's suspiciously calm. I give a look at the others in a crowd... And I can notice that Obuchi and Koizumi are smiling. Kumi, on the other hand, doesn't seem pleased with a solution.

"So, they are bitches after all.", Kasanoin says with disgust in his voice and, I gotta say, he's right. They stayed on Otome's side even after their leader went to the afterlife... But did they right?

Apparently the incident with policeman seems to be ignored by mourners. They're scattering, possibly going back home. Our group also seems to get smaller and smaller: Nanami and Kyouichi were first to say goodbye. After them Setsuna and Sekai went home. I was alone, looking at Katou-san's gravestone.

Everything is confusing. Katsura-san had a good reason to kill Otome and also her mind is shattered. If they even find her guilty, they need to think about her insanity... But still, if she will end up in prison, than Itou can snap(According to Himler's papers, it did happen, although cases of Saionji and Katsura happened more often), which can end fatally to... everyone.

Suddenly, I can see Otome's flunkies standing next to me. Who's the leader now? Possibly Obuchi, although I don't care much.

"Why did you do it?", I ask after a while. "Why did you think that Katsura-san murder Katou-san?", Minami looks at me and smiles mockingly.

"Who else could do it?", She says, clearly mocking me.

"You don't have no evidence."

"Neither have you. Besides, Katsura-san hated Otome-chan, hated with great passion. She's the only one who had any reasons to actually commit this crime."

"You're very confident about it.", I say quietly. "But maybe it's you?", Apparently my suspections surprised her.

"How... How dare you...?", She says after a while.

"Oh, it's simple. You were tired of doing orders of someone, so you decided that now you should be a leader.", I say with satisfaction. I can see in her eyes that shock and hatred are fighting with each other. "You're disgusting, Obuchi. Killing someone just because you were bored of her...", She tries to slap me, but luckily I manage to catch her palm in mid-air. She tries to break away from my grip, but is too weak. I finally let her go. "Everyone is suspicious in this case, including you and your sidekicks. I'll be watching you. If there will be anything interesting about us, I'll call the police straight away... But I do believe you've got nothing to hide, haven't you?", I say with mocking tone, mimicking her. She doesn't seem scared of this threat, neither does Koizumi(Kumi apparently doesn't want to be involved), but disbelief can be seen in her eyes. She will be cautious now. I turn on my heel and leave them, with their deceased former leader.

Heh, I wonder if Katou-san is angry on them. Who knows...?

Near the exit from the cemetery I can see Katou-san's sister. She apparently is waiting for someone. Could she possibly wait for me...?

"Excuse me, are you Wala Casper-san?", She says. Yeah, that solves everything.

"Yes, it's me. How can I help you, _Ojou-san_?", I ask politely, bowing forty five degrees.

"My name's Katou Karen. You've probably known my _onee-san_, Otome."

"I'm afraid that not much. We weren't in the same class, so I'm not the best person to ask about..."

"I'm not trusting them.", She says, surprising me. Does she talk about Otome's flunkies? "They're very likely to blame Katsura-san for everything.", She also adds sadly. "I have no idea why _onee _was bullying her. She... She didn't deserve it."

"Do you know Itou Makoto? Maybe Katou-san was... Well, jealous of fact that Itou was concentrating on her rival."

"Ah, senpai. Yes, I know him... I actually had a crush on him couple of months ago, but eventually I overcome it. Sadly Otome didn't make it in time."

"Forgive me if this sounds rude, but what's your business actually?", I ask after a short while.

"Do me a favor, Wala-san. Could you keep an eye on them?"

"Do you think they could possibly...?"

"I don't know whom should I trust...", She says sadly. "Also, you were recommended by Saionji-san as a perfect stalker."

Sweet Jesus, I'll kill you, Sekai.

"Okay, I can try, but I cannot promise that I will succeed.", I say after a while. She gives me a slight, yet grateful smile.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. If I will hear about anything, I'll give you a call. Just be that kind and send me your number, because I'm assuming you've already known my phone number.", I'm rather angry. Why does Saionji keep me involved in this stuff? I don't want to know anything about it and yet it still comes, stronger and stronger than before.

Karen smiles slightly, although I can see that she has some problems with smiling.

"I will.", She answers. "See you later than.", She turns on her heel and walks away, leaving me alone at the cemetery.

I hate my life.

Saionji requested a meeting this evening near Radish. I thought this will be a perfect opportunity to explain a few things with her, so I agreed.

"Let me ask you a few things before we will go to the main topic.", I say to her. We're sitting in the restaurant, sipping coke. "Since when I'm a perfect stalker?"

"You seemed moved by Katou-san's death. I thought..."

"...That I'll be happy to help, won't I?", I ask rhetorically. "Why me? Why the person recommended by Saionji Sekai is always Wala Casper?", She looks embarassed.

"I don't know how to name it.", She finally says. Is she blushing? She seems to avoid my glare. "I... After all this incidents I thought in my heart that you're by far the only person besides Setsuna who seems to fully understand me.", She says, stuttering. She plays with her fingers that now are running across the table anxiously.

"Thank you, but we know each other less than a month.", I respond with slight smile. Saionji may be annoying, but she's by far the only person that I can now trust. Itou is a passive wuss, Katsura-san in arrest, Sawanaga way too perverted and easy-going, Hikari and Nanami not involved at this case at all, Otome's flunkies for obvious reasons... I don't even think that I can trust her sister. Although it seems impossible, everyone - including her - is suspicious. And then there's Kiyoura, which aura of mystery floods everything with a sea of questions. Who is she actually? What's her role in this theatre? Is she a murderer or just an emotionless advisor...?

"...That I love you.", Saionji's voice cracks, waking me up from my pondering. I stare at her and blink in confusion. WHAT did she say? Did she's just explained her reasons why she likes me that much? I haven't heard a damn thing, concerned with mysteries around Katou-san's death.

"Don't look at me like that!", She says fiercely, standing up.

"But... I'm just surprised.", I say, after a short while, also standing up. "You suddenly said that you love me. Don't you... Um, have a boyfriend or som...", She interrupts me suddenly by grabbing me by the necktie(I thought that wearing it will bring some misfortune) and... kissing me.

What the... It's... unusual. I can feel that my heart is full of happiness. My mind eclipses and my soul buzzes with this unknown attraction that is called... Love. Thankfully, I manage to regain cold, calculated thinking.

If Saionji does really loves me, that means she shouldn't be interested in Itou as long as I will take proper care of her. This dismisses vision of Katsura-san's insanity, although... This world is different than the others. It's averted and twisted. Here neither Saionji nor Katsura-san are the culprits. Itou isn't a unfaithful bastard, at least not yet. Bystanders and secondary players, however, are in danger, as Katou-san found it the hard way...

My mind eclipses once again, blinded with passion. To be honest, it's new for me, to actually make such an close-range activity like being kissed by a passionate girl. The girl who maybe is annoying and hyper... But truly she seems to understand me.

I can feel our lips, merging with each other. It's exciting, feeling warmth of another person. Still, as pleasant as it is, I'm feeling that it shouldn't be like that. It's... It's like a forbidden fruit. Tasty, tempting to eat and eye-catching, but prohibited by the most powerful forces of nature... On the other hand, she blatantly admitted that she loves me, and thanks to that, she will be outside the range of possible Katsura-san's fury... Or will she?

"Don't say a damn thing.", I say to my thoughts, seeing that all party gathered to celebrate my achievement. Very well, but I didn't do anything! Everything comes at a price: Seeing Amadeo trying to open a bottle of champagne is by far the most demotivating try ever done. Also, Himler's calm acquisition of the bottle and unscrewing the cap(Because Night Shooter is way too nuts to buy an ordinary champagne and decided to choose the one unusual) almost made me laugh. Thankfully, almost... So I could concentrate... on...

Sweet Jesus, I love you, Sekai.


	6. Chapter 6: Setsuna's anger

**There you go, another chapter. Hope you will like it. **

"You've just stepped on a very weak ice." Casper Stratoavis says quietly. I don't care about his warnings. I'm happy. No, it's not the right word... I'm joyful. "You don't even listen to me, do you?", He asks without enthusiasm.

"Not really. Sorry." I say falsely, giving him a slight smile. "You apparently don't get it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Love. You haven't been in love, since love is just an obstacle for you. I am now."

"You really believe she loves you?" My evil twin asks with disgust. Smile dissappears from my face.

"What are you implying?" I say, giving him a sour look. He just smiles mockingly.

"Don't you think she simply looks for some fun? After her shock related with death of Katou vanishes, she will vanish too, leaving you devastated... Once again." He adds triumphantly.

"Stop."

"Saionji may be cute and hyperactive, but it's just a mask." Stratoavis starts poking me in chest with his finger. "She's a manipulative backstabber and you will be the first victim of her plot."

"Stop!"

"Besides, take a look on this." He gives me papers with some informations. "Read it." He orders and grins maliciously. After a few minutes, I look at him.

"Now do you understand?" He says, giggling. "She actually changed her places with Setsuna just in order to be with Itou. She loved him all the time, but was too shy to tell him about her feelings... And when Kotonoha appeared, she plotted a perfect plan."

"This world is different." I say after a while, with pale face.

"Keep yourself telling that and you'll end in a middle of nowhere."

"Just... Please, leave." I say, losing my patience. He bows slightly with an ironic smile and walks away.

I'm laying on a floor, wondering. Could his words...? Is there even a slight possibility that he's right?

And suddenly, I've got an enlightenment.

Kiyoura. She's the missing chain. She's the link I was looking for. She must be somehow related to Itou, Katsura-san and Sekai.

"Ritter." I say after a while. From darkness a single silhouette approaches. It's heavily armored, in full-plate armor that covers all its body. There's a bright azure light between parts of an armor. It's armed with sword and large shield that resembles composite wings of an eagle. It takes its steps in complete silence, save cracks of his steel boots.

Rudiger Ritter, silent and emotionless being working for Heavens.

"Do me a favor. Gather all the information you can about Setsuna Kiyoura. Do it as quickly as possible." I order him. He never complains, he never speaks. Ritter simply nods his armored head in "Yes" fashion and walks away.

Kiyoura Setsuna, mysterious little girl and one of the many suspects.

_You don't know how much I hate you_

_And always will_

_I'll never crawl before your thrones_

_You don't know the day will come soon_

_When we will kill_

_The final holocaust for your dark hearts..._

Someone pokes me. I open my eyes. Surprisingly, it's Sekai. Since when does she use a train? Of course, she has her annoying smile just in case I forgot about her existence.

"Oh, hey, Saionji-san." I greet her after a while, putting down my headphones. Shucks, I was already in a world of perfect anger, hatred and violence along with Mille Petrozza's powerful vocal and wicked guitar riffs and then... Sekai destroys it completely. I wonder if she would be able to like thrash metal.

"Morning, Casper-kun." She answers cheerfully, sitting next to me. "Whaddya listening to?"

"Just some metal." I say. "Definitely not your cup of tea..." I also add, but it's already too late: Sekai grabbed my headphones and starts listening. Her first impression is an amazement, but after a few minutes she drops a smile from her face. Ouch, looks like she cannot stand such destructive lyrics.

"Not that bad, but..." She gives me back my earphones, smile returns on her face. "It's very... Um, unusual."

"You mean the lyrics?"

"Yeah..." She answers cautiously. Apparently she doesn't want to hurt me with her opinion. Suddenly she bursts out laughing for no reason. "I'm sorry, I'm hopeless. I'm afraid I'm a fan of j-pop and nothing more."

"I understand. It's nothing to worry about, it's only about your taste." I say, giving her a slight smile. I can see in her eyes that she's really happy. It's not a mask that Stratoavis mentioned, it's a true emotion. We're making an eye contact.

"You know, Saio... Sekai..." I say, losing my words. "I think I..."

"Yes?"

"I think... I love you too." I say after a while. She looks surprised for a short while, than smiles gleefully and kisses me in a cheek.

"I know." She says, hugging me gently. We're sitting in silence, both of us with smile. So... This is how the lovers feel? To be honest, it's a very pleasant feeling.

We can see Makoto entering the train. He starts to greet me, than stops his hand in midair. He apparently is shocked by this picture. To be honest, myself also would be shocked if someone had told me that I will end up hugging Sekai in a train.

Surprsingly, all the colours seems to vanish from his face instantly. He's almost chalk white. Itou stays in his usual place, he's got... weathered eyes. Something's not right with him. Sekai also suddenly becomes sad.

"I forgot to tell you." She says after a while. "I've tell Makoto-kun about yesterday's incident on cemetery. He was... devastated." She lowers her voice to a whisper. I nod my head silently. Of course he is devastated, his girlfriend is accused of murder... This Itou Makoto still is faithful.

"What can we do now?" I ask after a short while of silence.

"We must support Makoto-kun in all ways possible." Saionji answers seriously. "It's very painful to be separated from your significant other."

"I see. I do believe all his friends will support him. Me, you, Kiyoura-san, Hikari, Nanami, Sawanaga... The others."

"Yeah."

_The best minds of a generation slowly disappeared_

_For every dream that died a fratured soul_

_All that people fought for lost it's meaning through the years_

_And those who stood as one turned into acrimonious foes_

_Where is resistance?_

_Wiped out and killed_

_Obey discipline, fear_

_Facing the end of moral ideals_

_I come to reclaim_

_The whole planet and its kingdoms_

_When Death takes its dominion_

_Now, bow down I will reign_

_Golden cities to oblivion_

_When death takes its dominion through hate_

We're observing Itou from some distance. He doesn't seem to suffer from some extreme depression, he's simply incredibly moved by fact that his girlfriend could possibly be a murderer. Along with Sekai we advised the others to not mention Katsura-san when Makoto's nearby, just in case. He looks like he's close to snapping... And it could end fatally in a crowded place.

We're sitting in a canteen. Everyone is nervous, looking at depressed guy. I do believe he's suffering extreme pain. Annoying silence lasts until someone giggles mockingly. I take a look. Obuchi and Koizumi, Kumi's not with them.

"Well, well, look what we have here, Naizumi." Their apparent new leader says with some special smile. This smile will not bring anything good, I know it.

"What do you want, you two?" Nanami asks with unpleasant voice.

"Oh, we were just walking around and somehow found such an interesting example of a man who apparently doesn't know what he's doing." She answers, changing her smile into an innocent one, although it's just a mask.

"If you want to annoy us, do it after big break." I say calmly.

"I don't have a business with you, jackass." She growls. I rise up from my seat with a slight smile.

"If that's the best insult you can invent, than I'm very disappointed, Obuchi-san." I respond after a while, absorbing her even more enraged expression with satisfaction. The others are watching cautiously, only Itou seems to not react. "Besides, insulting someone who's circa two heads taller and is much stronger isn't a good idea." I add with the same smile, don't even trying to sound scary. Koizumi takes a step back, but her friend apparently isn't moved. Yes, she's very Otome-like. "Especially when there's no one to actually help you."

"Minami, maybe we should...?" Natsumi suggests, but their new leader is too pissed off now.

"Out of my way." She says, apparently trying to intimidate me.

"Not until you say what are you for." Suddenly, a smile comes across her face.

"Oh, I've just wanted to express my regret to Itou-san." She answers with a vicious expression. Makoto comes back to life and starts looking at her.

"What are you...?" He asks, stuttering.

"Katsura-san was found guilty of Katou-san's murder and shall be executed upon..." She doesn't end this sentence.

She's slapped so hard she actually trips over. Guess who's staying next to me now? Kiyoura. She has strange flashes in her eyes and I can tell she was moved by this words... Although "moved" is an understatement here. Setsuna looks like she's about to explode like a freaking atom bomb.

"You pathetic... LIAR!" She screams while delivering a powerful kick to Obuchi's stomach. Good lord, since when she's so strong? And since when she's so hot-blooded? I've never seen her so angry. To be honest, I've never seen her angry, not even irritated.

"Whoa, Setsuna, calm down!" Sawanaga rushes in order to stop little girl from pummeling Obuchi, but is shoved away by her like a rag doll. Kiyoura delivers another kick while Minami is crying for help. Koizumi is apparently shocked and even terrified, as she backs away with disbelief in her eyes. All students in canteen are now looking into us curiously. I can see Ashikaga and Kasanoin rushing towards us.

"Setsuna, what are you doing?" Sekai asks with shock in her voice, trying to stop her friend, but she's shoved away as well.

"How long do you manage to interfere in Makoto-kun's life? When will you stop changing his and Katsura-san's life into a nightmare?" Kiyoura screams in fury, while delivering another blows. Obuchi writhes in pain, crying. "And now you're the one who's crying. How's that feeling, Obuchi? How... is... that?" Sweet Jesus, is that a mocking tone in her voice? This Setsuna is... bloodthirsty and violent inside, while silent or even cute outside. Textbook Yandere, for Christ's sake! She resumes kicking her in a stomach, one kick stronger than another.

Suddenly, Itou rushes to cover Setsuna's victim from kicks with his own body. He regained a part of his own, as I can see life in his eyes. Little girl stops her foot in midair, surprised. Makoto stands up, determination in his eyes and closes his face to hers while whispering some words. I cannot hear them, but apparently it works, as she takes a few steps back both from him and Obuchi with disbelief in her eyes. She shakes her head... And sits on a nearby chair. Her eyes start filling with tears, as she continues shaking her head.

Quite a mood whiplash, if someone asks me. Now the awkward silence fills the canteen, except only for Setsuna's crying.

Good Alastor, what happened here?

Again, what in the world happened in the canteen today?

We're heading back home: Me, Sekai and Itou. He's apparently a little more lively than he used to be, he even chatted with us for a while and said that "he believes that Kotonoha'll be allright. She couldn't kill no one, she's way too innocent to do it."

Probably Setsuna was right. Obuchi simply lied just for lulz, although "just for lulz" isn't an appropiate word here. Is she really was that cruel to laugh about sadness of others? Oh well, she learned the hard way that she shouldn't. We advised her that, for her own good, she shouldn't report the case, because Setsuna can snap once again, and again, and again.

Thankfully, Kiyoura herself got away with this incident as no one was kind enough to deliever a message to a teacher. I thought that after her explosion of emotions I don't need any more informations, just a few confirmations.

I found her alone in a classroom, packing books. She was emotionless as always. Is that a mask...? I shall find out.

"How can I help you?" She asks, not even turning her eyes onto me.

"Can we... talk?" I respond with another question.

"Incident in canteen, right?" Kiyoura puts her bag on one of the desks and turns in my direction.

"Yeah, that one."

"You were right yesterday." She says, surprising me. What does she talk about? "Humans tend to... break." Her voice lowers to a barely hearable whisper. Did she say... Break? I feel chills down my spine.

"You think you've broken?" I ask cautiously. She gives me a slight smile, rarely seen on her usually blank face.

"Maybe." She gives me an enigmatic answer. "Everyone will break, earlier or later."

"I won't say I approve the deed you've done, but Obuchi asked for it... But I don't understand one thing." She looks at me, waiting for me to continue. "Why are you getting so emotional with it?"

"I want Makoto-kun to be happy." She says flatly, picking her bag. "It's nothing else."

"You've taken it into extreme action. Please, Kiyoura-san, think before acting."

"Okay." She says and walks away from the class, but stops for a while. "Please, take care of her." She says and leaves.

So she knows. Could possibly Sekai tell her? It's a plausible theory, but she could also tell by her or mine behaviour.

"I will, Setsuna. I will." I say quietly, looking at her back as she's walking down the corridor.

"Hey, you're okay?" Sekai says.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I was just wondering about something..." I answer after a short while. She smiles slightly.

"I'm glad to be with you." She says, leaning her head on my shoulder.

"And so do I." I answer, taking away my bad thoughts... For about ten seconds.

We can hear Itou. He's ridiculously cheerful... Looks like he's watching something on a shopwindow. It's a news... What the...

"It means Kotonoha is innocent! She didn't kill Katou-san!" He says gleefully, looking like an idiot. He's incredibly happy. "My sweet Kotonoha is innocent!"

Of course, it was a good news... But I think Makoto's reaction was a tad bit exaggerated.

After all, grey photo of Obuchi Minami with a black ribbon shouldn't be a reason to smile.


	7. Chapter 7: Primus Gradus Ad Insaniam

**There you go, another chapter. This one will probably end first "act" of a story, although we shall see the outcome.**

**Oh, and that catastrophe in Japan must have been tragical in result. I hope that Japanese will be able to get up after this. Good luck. **

I've already learned to despise everything bringed by Himler. Not that I was biased because he was a former SS-man, but because he simply bringed bad news. Always.

"_Papers you have been asking for_." He says, giving me documents. "_Everything about case of Obuchi Minami_."

"Himler. This isn't a case anymore." I say after a short while. He seems puzzled.

"_Excuse me_?"

"It's not a case anymore. It's a battle, battle between me and the murderer. Battle that already consumed two lives and is close for another ones. Whoever he or she is, we'll be screwed if we do not find his or her identity." I look into his azure eyes. I know they're only a facade, but a very good one anyway. "Herr Gunsche, announce red alert, operation number 666, codename "Daemonis". We need a meeting, all of us."

"_Straight away_." He bows slightly and walks away.

So what do we have here? "Schoolgirl from Sakakino Gakuen, aged 16, has been found dead in her own apartment at 4 P.M by her close friend Kumi Mori. Obuchi has been stabbed with pointy weapon multiple times, presumably a kitchen knife..."

Wait, what? Sounds suspiciously familiar.

"According to Kumi, the door to Obuchi's apartment were open..."

So now Mori is in a sphere of suspects. On the other hand, she didn't have a reason to kill her friend... But, if Obuchi's room doors were open, than either she left them like this(Highly unlikely) or the murderer is a person that was known by Obuchi. So... Koizumi, mentioned before Kumi or her boyfriend, if she had any. Then again, she could simply open the door, because someone was knocking. In that case... Everything returns to the point of return.

"Kumi is in a state of deep shock. Her fingerprints weren't find on knife which remained in Obuchi's chest..."

Could a killer be possibly a perverted deviant? Only Sawanaga is actually like this, but he doesn't even know Obuchi that much and have absolutely no reason to kill her.

"Asked about possible killers, Kumi couldn't respond properly, using only general words. She doesn't suspect a certain person. The thing important to a case is the fact that the victim was a close friend of Katou Otome, murdered few days ago. The murderer has already gained status of new Jack the Ripper..."

Jack the Ripper, please! As serious as this thing is, we cannot name him or her Jack "just" because he killed two girls. On the other hand, they were not only attending to the same school, but also were close friends. I do believe I can predict murderer's next victim: First Otome, than Obuchi, now... Koizumi. Yes, she will be the next victim as the third most unpleasant person to Katsura-san. I wonder if she freaks out. Possibly, their posse was reduced to only two members.

Suddenly, my phone rings.

"Hello? Oh, it's you... Fine, you will give me them on our meeting. Point 6 P.M. Also, find Ritter and ask him about "info he should get". I do believe he will know what are you talking about. Yeah, thanks. Later." Finally some good news. Samuel returned from his journey to Kumi's mind and actually found someone talkative there. Very good.

Meanwhile, I've done a few homeworks, including taking off the rubbish and washing the dishes. My parents were watching me with confusion, as I'm not exactly the working person, preffering laying on a couch or sitting in my room. Oh well, since I will need a clear mind, something like this will help me refresh.

And now, we're gathered.

Casper Stratoavis. Himler Gunsche. Samuel Phantom. Amadeo alias Night Shooter. Rudiger Ritter. The others, circa thirty beings, including such unusual creatures as fanatical inquisitor, gambler in bright green suit, skeleton in a cowboy attire, blue-haired girl in green clothing and so on, so on.

"As you were probably informed by Herr Gunsche, we do have a problem that will require help of everyone in order to get rid of it.", I start calmly. "As you know, our "real" world is tormented by an unknown murderer who apparently targets schoolgirls from Sakakino Gakuen. We've already have two victims and I'll be glad if we can if not catch, then at least prevent the murderer from another murders."

"What are you actually expecting us to do?" Skeleton asks, playing with coin.

"Since you cannot affect the "real" world in person, I'm asking you for your advice and possible gathering of informations from alternative dimensions where you can enter. Herr Gunsche, if you please...", Blonde gives me papers. "These are the information about every single major player in this game. Segregated in order: Itou, Katsura, Saionji, Katou, Kiyoura, Sawanaga, Ashikaga. Find us much you can about their motivs, their minds, why are they like this."

"Will do." The gambler smiles gleefully and stands up from his seat.

"I will suggest merging with Sakakino, if possible. If not, then your only option is sadly observation.", I add, standing up too. "What can I say? Good luck. Now, Samuel, Rudiger, Herr Gunsche, Amadeo, Stratoavis, please come with me."

"My copy of info about Kiyoura-san, please." I say. Ritter gives me the papers that maybe will turn the tides of this "battle". "You can leave. Herr Gunsche, Amadeo, Samuel, give me a few minutes."

"And what about me?" Stratoavis asks.

"Yeah, you can stay too." I start looking at the papers. Everything seems to be as I predicted from her yesterday's behaviour.

"This... This maybe is a thing we're looking for." I say after a while. "It's not a triangle. It's a rectangle."

"**You're serious**?", Amadeo asks, surprised.

"At the very beginning of the first year, Kiyoura Setsuna was bullied and picked on because of her height. Guess who helped her?"

"Itou." My evil twin says with slight disgust in his voice.

"Certainly. He helped her build the attitude of silent and always serious class rep we know. Because of that, she fell in love with him, but he didn't seem to notice that. Since Setsuna is a friend of Sekai, these two were helping each other. However, Kiyoura misunderstood Saionji's feelings. She thought that Sekai loves him and, truly, she did, but was too shy to express her love. She asked Setsuna to change their seats and Setsuna, wanting to help her best friend, agreed, even if at cost of her own happiness. She was determined in her objective... Then, Itou got attracted by Katsura-san and everything went downhill."

"_In some dimensions, Frau Kiyoura openly declared her hatred towards Frau Katsura_.", Himler adds. "_She thought that Herr Itou and Frau Saionji were together since always... However, she did not know that Frau Saionji paired them, that means, Frau Katsura and Herr Itou_."

"**So, partially she's the one responsible for Katsura's mental breakdown**?", Amadeo asks, smoking a cigar.

"_Certainly. In "real" world, however, she seems to be determined to keep her lover happy at all costs, as we could see yesterday_."

"She can do such thing, because someone promised her something." Stratoavis says with detestation.

"Shut up." I answer. "If this is the case to keep tragedy prevented, then I'm determined to suffer some consequences."

"The point is that goddamn tragedy already had place!" My evil twin growls fiercely. I want to answer him, but... I cannot. I don't know what to say. He's right. "Here, however, we already have two victims and it seems that this number will grow!"

"**Hate to say it, but he has a point**." Amadeo says without enthusiasm.

"That's why I asked for your assistance." I respond, trying to be calm. "If we can identify murderer, we can save the others."

"Hey, don't you find it ironic?" Samuel suddenly says with slight smile, surprising us.

"What do you mean?"

"Both Miss Katou and Miss Obuchi's deaths already had place in other dimensions. However, there Miss Saionji and Miss Katsura were guilty, the victims were also different... And yet, the crime is the same... It looks like these two are paradoxically the most innocent in the entire school."

"**I get it! Fate truly does have a sense of humor**!" Amadeo screams in amazement.

"Oh, please, it's just a lucky shot." Stratoavis says flatly.

"_Back to the topic, we are dealing with "love rectangular", are not we_?" Himler asks.

"Yeah." I respond. "If Itou and Katsura-san are on the first side, than Sekai and Setsuna are on the other."

"Now that you're involved, then it should be a love pentagon." Phantom says. He is right. We're like a wicked pentagon: When our silhouette is presented by a diagonals, we're like a pentacle. A symbol of Satan, but also amulet against evil.

"Allright then." I say after a short while of pondering. "Let's get to the next topic: Samuel's journey to Kumi's mind." Phantom clearly smiles gleefully.

"Ah, yes, I do believe I found someone worthy." He says.

"Go on."

"She has only two characters, related with each other: They're girls. The older one's name is Akuma, the younger's - Muzai."

"Interesting... Isn't "akuma" mean demon and "muzai" - innocence?" I ask after a short while.

"_It is_." Himler confirms with a nod. "_Herr Phantom, you are saying these two girls are related. How exactly_?"

"They're sisters, but that's not the most important thing about them." Samuel paused for a while. "Both Akuma and Muzai were abandoned by their parents. In order to survive, the older sister was required to do many... Let's say "unpleasant" things towards others. She became an assassin, very bloodthirsty and crazy one also. She's on the edge of insanity and only Muzai prevents her from falling into depths of abyss."

"Drop this cheesy entrance and tell us some particulars." Stratoavis says with sour expression.

"Give me one moment. On the other side, we've got Muzai, who's total opposite of bloodthristy Akuma: Sweet, cute, innocent and yet very clever and caring about her older sister. I do believe she could kill someone in order to protect Akuma, although, as I found the hard way, she can protect herself pretty well."

"Go on."

"These two are loving each other very much... But okay, let's back to the topic." Samuel clears his throat. "When I asked Muzai about her creator, she me told many interesting things... For example, Miss Kumi's a..." Phantom imitates a sound of drums. "Lesbian."

"You call it a particular?", Stratoavis growls angrily.

"Wait, wait... This can be helpful.", I say, calming my evil twin down. "Continue."

"If Muzai is to be believed, Miss Kumi is afraid of something and freaks out."

"**Her two friends were murdered. Everyone would freak out**.", Amadeo counters. Phantom smiles slightly.

"She said that Miss Kumi is gentle, peaceful girl that was in pack of bitches just because she didn't want to be treated that way by the others... Although she also said that Miss Katou were something for Miss Kumi what we can call an "inspiration".

"I see..."

"Also I've got something extra for you. We've got an unexpected visitor!", Samuel says cheerfully, taking a few steps on the left and revealing some unknown girl to me. She has brown hair, tied in a ponytail. I can feel some kind of ominous aura around her. She raises her head and looks in my eyes. I feel surprised, then shocked, then helluva scared and terrified...

Someone, who shouldn't be here, is. Exactly before me. She smiles mockingly... No, it's only a greeting smile. However...

What. The. Hell. Does. Katou. Otome. Do. In. My. Head?

"Long time no see." She says calmly.

It was just a dream...? Or reality?

What was that? A ghost, nightmare, spectre... Possibly I've eaten something stale...

Or I'm really insane.

No, no, it doesn't make sense. If she was a ghost, than she would be likely to haunt her murderer. Why me? I haven't done anything to her. On the other hand, if she is... "real", then probably knows about that I agreed to keep eye on her gang. And now, another girl is dead.

What's the time? 1 A.M. Suddenly my cellphone rings. Whoever is this, he or she better have a good reason to phone me in the middle of a night.

"Hello...?" I ask weakly. I'm surprised by its weakness... Maybe I have a fever. It would explain vision of Katou as hallucination.

"Casper-kun?" Sekai.

"Yeah, Wala Casper speaking. How can I help you, Sekai-san?"

"Have you heard that Katsura-san was released from custody?"

"Good to know... But, Sekai, please... I'm not feeling well. I do believe..." Cough. "I do believe I've got a fever, so it's unlikely for me to be today in school."

"Today's lessons were canceled because of mourning." She says quietly. Cynical thought goes through my head that Obuchi's death wasn't senseless.

"I see..."

"Would you mind if I come to your house?" Oh, that was surprising.

"Well, I don't think it will be a problem, but I don't want you to catch it too."

"Don't worry about me, it's you that we should take care, at least for a while." She says cheerfully. I slightly smile.

"Thanks." I only say.

"You're welcome. I love you."

"I know. Goodnight." I hang up and smile. Truly, she is a beautiful girl.

My thoughts fullfilled: I've got a fever, 38.5 Celsius degrees. My mum said that I need a rest, especially "after this terrible events that happened". As a result, I've got a free week. Usually I would be happy because of it, but today... This time, something's not right. Somehow I would be glad to go to school this time... Nah, you definitely think too much, Casper.

I wanted to confirm one thing. I wanted to talk with Katou-san, just to be sure if she's really... real.

I saw her playing video games with Amadeo. She was pretty good, kicking a skull-headed demon's butt in "Soul Calibur 3".

"Can I interrupt you two for a moment?" I asked politely. Amadeo gets up from his seat.

"**I think I'll go take care of... Um, barbecue**." He said in shame, walking away quickly.

"Loser!" Otome shouted with satisfaction. "Hey, how can I help you?"

"Oh, excuse me... I need to get used to polite and nice Katou Otome." I said after a short while. She's different than before. More... Friendly? "Can we talk about one thing?"

"Sure."

"I need to know, Katou-san. Why me?"

"You're interested. Truly interested about preventing the murderer from another kills." She says cautiously, scratching her head.

"I do believe everyone will..."

"Everyone? Don't make me laugh, Wala-san. Save for you and my sis, there was no one that ever truly was interested in me."

"What do you mean? You were popular in school."

"It was a facade. Everyone despised "this sporty bitch", mainly because she was irreformable."

"Then why not your sister?"

"Because she's alone, just like me was, before Obuchi and gang took me under their wings."

Wait, what?

"Can you repeat that?", I ask.

"Yeah, it maybe a shock for you, but I wasn't the original leader of our pack. Obuchi gave me her leadership, because, as she said "You will be a better leader than I was.""

Well, well. Looks like even monsters have hearts.

"Do a favor for me. Take care about my sis." She said seriously. "She's still in junior high school and can overreact if other kids would mock her."

"What for?

"You know, "Your sister is lame, she got run over by a train." Stuff like that." I couldn't help, but slightly smile. Otome smiled too.

"You're different than I thought. Sorry for that."

"I understand. After all, I was a bitch."

"Please, don't say things like that.", I beg her. She smiles slyly. "Don't get any funny ideas, Katou-san. I've already have a girlfriend."

"I know. Congratulations, she will be happy with you. Oh, and I maim you if you leave her, got it?"

"Got it, ma'am. And now you must excuse me, I've got "real" visitors.

So, yeah. Katou Otome was pretty real.

Since I cannot leave my bed due to fever, I'm now lying under the towel with laptop, trying to find some decent anime. "Hellsing Ultimate" is a very tempting one... But I do believe I will soon find something interesting. Not this time, however... I can hear knocking to the door. Looks like Sekai is here. I slowly get up from bed and start putting my sweater. I can hear my Mum, shouting from downstairs.

"Honey, you've got visitors!"

"Yeah, I know, I'm co..." I freeze. Did she say... "visitors"? Now, when my caution doubled, I slowly approach from my room, just in time to see... Sekai. And everyone else.

Sweet Jesus, I'll kill you.

I'm surprised, really surprised. I've never expected that I will get so many visitors at once. There's, of course, Saionji, but also Katsura-san along with Itou, Hikari and Sawanaga(Interesting thing is that Kuroda-san cannot even spit a single word out when she's alone with Taisuke. Sekai had already declared her willingness to help), Nanami and Kasanoin, there's also Ashikaga and... What the? What does she do here?

What does Kumi Mori do here...?

Nah, I think about it later.

"Oh... Hey, all of you." I say while death-glaring Sekai. She better had a good explanation. Saionji notices my bitter look and smiles apologetically. "Please come in." I say after exchanging greetings with everyone. "I'm afraid we may have problems with fitting in... My room isn't exactly the best for such big parties."

"We'll be fine." Itou says with slight smile. He still has something weird in his eyes, although he and Katsura-san looks happy together.

"Well then, feel free to enter my sanctuary." I say with smirk. Suddenly I notice that someone isn't here. "Saionji-san, Kiyoura isn't with you?"

"She said she cannot visit you but she wished you quick recovery." Sekai explains with slightly worried expression.

"I see..." I'm not satisfied with this answer, but apparently I will not gain the better one. One minute later my usually empty room is now crowded with people. I return under the towel. "So, all of you came here just to visit me?"

"You're one of us, after all." Sawanaga responds, beaming gleefully. I can notice that Hikari sits very close to him... Who knows, maybe they will finally end as a couple? Considering that Makoto clearly stated that Katsura-san is his girlfriend and the fact that me and Sekai are together, they remain as the only ones still free(Save for Ashikaga, although I do believe he's got someone).

"Nice to hear it." I say, trying to smile. I've never... I've never had so many visitors. It's a strange feeling, I must say... Also the fact that they come just because I've got a fever in order to cheer me up and wish me good recovery. "Thank you... All of you." I say after a short while of silence.

"You're welcome." Sekai says, smiling as cheerfully as always.

"Changing the topic, why aren't you on Obuchi-san's funeral? Shouldn't it be today?" I ask. They've gradually became grimer.

"Save for Obuchi-san's family and Koizumi-san, no one was invited." Kumi suddenly says with soft, gentle voice. Who would guess she was in Katou-san's posse?

"And what about you?" I ask cautiously. Something's not right.

"I didn't want to come there." She says quietly, surprsing me. "I didn't want to watch..."

"I see. Sorry if I hurt your feelings." I apologize. Mori seems to be moved by the fact that her second friend was murdered.

"Gossips say that they're planning to close Sakakino Gakuen." Nanami adds grimly. They would have a reason to do so... Damn, they would.

"Any particular reason?" I ask.

"Decreased rate of safety in school." Ashikaga answers in annoying, lettered way. I swear he learned the quote by heart.

"Tsk, this is idiotic." I say angrily. "Accidents like that happen in every single school. I do believe that I remember the Polish case of 14 or 15 years old schoolgirl who commited suicide because of her sadistic and brainless colleagues catching her undressing with phone."

"Ouch." Sawanaga says. I wouldn't say it was appropiate, but...

"Bastards have not been held accountable, never." I add, growing angrier and angrier. "Another case happened in Lithuania, where two pedophiles brutally molested, raped and finally killed four-years old girl." I pause. Girls are more or less scared, at least a little, but fortunately they've got their boyfriends(Of course, Sekai had to hug me). Hikari, amusingly, hugged Sawanaga who seemed to be surprised of her choice. Considering there's no other free boy here... Also, Kumi doesn't seem moved at all. Well, she's an artist like me, so possibly she rendered her resistant for stories like that.

I smile maliciously.

"At the finale, both pedophiles were killed by girl's father, Drasius Kedys." I say, trying to use my acting and make it sound like a happy end. "They were maimed, eviscerated in most brutal way imaginable... Sadly, Kedys commited suicide, tired of still running away from responsibility for commited deeds."

"Sadly, you say?" Hikari asks with disbelief after a while, still shocked.

"Justice is holy." I answer with slight fanaticism. "Although there are certain methods that shouldn't be bringed into daylight." I add quickly.

"If you say so..."

We've chatted for a longer while until evening. People start to leave, only Saionji and Kumi stays. In case of Sekai, this isn't that much of a surprise, but what could possibly Mori want from me?

"I want to say... sorry." She says. Wow.

"You're apologizing?" I ask dully. "Why me?"

"You've been trying to aid Katsura-san and you've been despised by... them." Kumi says, single tear drops from her eye. Oh, please, it's getting melodramatic.

"I see... But I do believe you should apologize Katsura-san first." I say. Kumi smiles.

"I've already done that. Katsura-san was kind enough to forgive me my bad deeds." Well, that's something new. "The others have already forgiven too."

"So I'm the last one standing?" I ask jokingly.

"It would appear so." She's serious. She's seriously serious.

"There's no reason that I shouldn't forgive you." I say after a short pondering. "If Katsura-san is allright with this, then I am as well."

"Thank you." Kumi bows officially, smile appears on her face. "It really means very much for me."

"You're welcome. It's nice to see her and Itou happy with each other." I respond lightly.

"Well then, it's time for me to leave." She says after a short while. She bows once again and leaves. Saionji sits on the couch, next to me.

"Whaddya thinking about?" She asks me with concern.

"Nah, it's very... unusual. I thought that, although not as devoted as Obuchi or Koizumi, Kumi would be sticking with Katou-san's gang." I say quietly.

"We've thought so too... But when she approached us, in tears and begging Katsura-san for forgiveness... As a result, Katsura-san bursted into tears too and they've ended hugging each other and saying "I'm sorry"." Sekai smiles slightly and so do I... Although dark thoughts are going through my mind. Phantom said that Kumi is an informed lesbian... Could it possibly affect...?

Nah, it's ridiculous.

Saionji closes to me.

"You shouldn't. I don't want you to catch a cold, you know?" I say with light tone. She puts her head on my shoulder.

"I don't care." She says in a... Um, very seductive way.

"Don't get any funny ideas, Saionji-san. My parents would've killed me..." I start to say. Of course, it's a blatant lie since my mum is constantly asking me if I have a girlfriend and I constantly answer that no and probably it will last like that for a longer time. I do believe I should tell them.

Sekai starts playing with her hair and finally kisses me in a cheek.

"You won this time." She says jokingly, standing up from the couch. "But don't get too confident."

"I'll get that." I respond lightly. Saionji maybe has many flaws, but I do believe her benefits are much more prominent. "I love you."

"I know." She smiles once again and then leaves.

She is a wonderful girl after all.


	8. Chapter 8: Koizumi's wickedness

**There you go, another chapter. It's shorter then the previous one, but I do believe it'll be allright... Especially that now, paraphrasing Casper Stratoavis, "we're stepped on a very weak ice." Enjoy.**

I've got bad feelings about Setsuna. She doesn't show up in school since day of Obuchi's demise. When I asked Sekai, she said that Kiyoura doesn't answer phone calls, We decided that we'll go to her apartment after school in order to find out what's happening.

I've got really bad feelings about this. Could possibly Setsuna become another victim of crazed murderer? It doesn't make sense. Both Katou-san and Obuchi were bullying Katsura-san while Kiyoura, as I remember, was pretty devoted defender of long-haired girl. However, all three of them are attending to Sakakino... Maybe that's the case? Maybe there wasn't even a slightest sign of Katsura-san's mysterious defender to begin with?

... Or maybe she's the murderer?

I'm getting paranoid. Too many mysteries around me. Insanity starts re-taking my mind once again. I'm... I'm helpless. What can I possibly do about this? What can an ordinary 16-year old student do about case of double murder?

NO! Compose yourself. You cannot lose to that feeling. If you feel exhausted, do as much as you can in order to remove the exhaustion. If you stop, you won't take another step, never and ever.

"What's wrong?" Sekai's voice breaks the darkness and silence. Her tone allows me to escape this void of despair... But how many times I will fall into it?

I can feel that I'm shivering.

"No... Nothing..." I respond with hesitation, looking at her seriously worried face.

"You're lying." She says seriously. "Casper-kun, what's happening?"

Shucks, she detected my lie.

"I don't think I should bother you with such nonsenses..." I say, summoning cheerful smile on my face. Apparently, Saionji still isn't sure. My smile vanishes. "I'm... I'm afraid, you know? I'm afraid that our friends will go away and we won't see them again. I'm afraid I'm gonna lose it... Lose the contact with a world. Go insane after all this events... My psyche is crumbling into dust already..." I continue, telling her everything that I was hiding to this very moment... And then she interrupts my speech with passionate kiss.

We're standing in total silence... And I feel that there's one thing that keeps my mind intact. Saionji Sekai, my beloved girlfriend, keeps me from falling into abyss of oblivion... I kiss her back, while hugging her. Warmth of her body defrozes mine, corrupted with sick imagination... I cannot throw it away. I cannot throw her away.

I love her, after all.

One minute later, Sekai finally takes a step back with serious look in her eyes.

"Promise me one thing." She says, taking my left gloved hand into hers. "No matter what, you will live on. Got it?"

"I'm not sure I understand..." I answer, a little confused. She only murmurs "_Baka_", but after a short while smile returns on her face.

"Don't worry. We will put an end to this scheme, together. Right?" She says with confidence in her voice. I smile back.

"Right." I respond. "You can be lovely sometimes."

"And so do you." Her warm smile allows me to forget about the darkness... At least for some amount of time.

Unfortunately, the others also doesn't have a slightest clue about Setsuna. They're all obviously worried, including Kumi who now seems to stick on both sides of this "conflict".

"By the way, where's Katsura-san?" I ask Itou.

"She said that she missed her train and will join us in short time." He responded, apparently still pondering about Kiyoura.

She is a soul of our group, something we cannot live without. Nanami is a muscle. Sekai and Hikari, a spirit. Katsura-san, a heart. Myself, a mind. Itou and Sawanaga as bonus addition, but they're important anyway. Without one of us, it will be hard to keep the peace together. I somehow know that Setsuna would be glad to keep it intact.

Suddenly, Katsura-san runs into canteen towards us. Something's not right: She barely breathes and cries.

"Ko-Kotonoha!" Makoto shouts, both surprised and scared. We're rushing to her in order to find out what's happening. She falls on the ground. She's shivering, a little like me a few hours ago. "What's happening? Are you allright?"

"Makoto-kun... Everyone..." She says quietly, grasping another breaths. "I... I... I found Kiyoura-san!" She says finally, shocking all of us.

"What... What did you say?" I ask grimly.

"My little sister, Kokoro, found her unconscious near our house. She was mortified, but thankfully she knows what to do in such case."

"Unconscious?" Itou asks and I can see he's clenching his fists really hard, almost to flesh. He's pissed off right now.

"Thank goodness, it appears that she will be allright." Katsura-san says and I sigh with relief.

"But what happened?" Saionji almost shouts.

"We don't know. Currently she should be in a hospital: My dad transported her here. Doctor said that it's only a few bruises, so..." Suddenly Makoto grabs Katsura-san's necktie and pulls closer to his face. He's enraged.

"Bruises? Are you sure?" He asks with low, deep voice. His girlfriend nervously shakes her head, scared. To be honest, I've never seen Itou so angry. He usually is very defensive... But this? It's almost like Hinamizawa syndrome! Itou let her go, than rushes outside the canteen.

"I suggest we'll stop him, or else someone's gonna get hurt. Badly." Sawanaga says quietly, helping Katsura-san with standing up.

"What do you mean?" Nanami asks with anxiety.

"Didn't you see that? He's ready to explode and I do believe I know who's gonna be the victim of his fury."

"Koizumi, am I right?" I say after a short while. Taisuke just nods in silence. "Eye for an eye. We will have one disabled student in school." I add with vicious smile.

"No, he can't beat up schoolgirls!" Hikari scolds me angrily. "Taisuke-kun's right, let's go!" And in this cliffhanger, we've rushed outside the canteen... And what do we found?

Itou fighting with some guy whom I did not know. He looked pretty average and I do believe I will not remember him that easily if not the fact that he was protecting Natsumi, standing only several steps back and watching the fight with satisfaction. She thought she was triumphant... And than she sees our approach and her eyes go wide. Haha, looks like we've scared little miss Koizumi... Suddenly, however, another guy appeared next to her. Damn, this one looks pretty intimidating. Not only he's as tall as Nanami(Which is, to say at least, pretty much), but also has impressive muscles(He was without his jacket and with rolled-up shirt's sleeves, so we could see them) and one hell of a sixpack, visible even under his shirt. He gives me, as tallest in group, sour look. In these eyes there's only anger and misery, nothing more... However, since I'm pretty good in glare duels, I do manage to survive until Makoto finally shoryukens the crap out of this poor guy with satisfactory crunch of victim's jaw. I didn't even know he's got such ability to fight like that.

"Kazuya, take care of him." Koizumi says to her bulked bodyguard. He only nods, than suddenly closes to exhausted Itou and knocks him out with just one punch... But considering the muscles, pretty much everyone would pass out after this one. "Hey there, all of you." She greets us coldly, but politely. Could possibly Makoto mistake some facts? "Is there any particular reason that Itou wanted to break my bones?"

"I do believe he misunderstood some crucial facts and... Well..." I start, only to be interrupted by Katsura-san.

"Makoto-kun believes that because of you Kiyoura-san is now in a hospital."

"Apparently, he's wrong." She says... And she doesn't lie. There isn't even slightest flinch or twitch on her face. She speaks truth or she's a perfect liar, but I do believe there's no such thing as perfect. "This is, however, pretty sad to hear that Kiyoura-san's injured. What happened?"

"Probably she was beaten by someone." I respond and bow. "Sorry for making such a terrible mistake."

"There's nothing to be sorry about unless you count Omazaki-san's jaw." She responds. Meanwhile this Kazuya guy helps the shoryukened one standing up.

"Baftard fas lufy." Omazaki says in a manner that is absolutely impossible to understand.

"Yeah, yeah, we know that." Kazuya answers with slightly mocking tone. Meanwhile Katsura-san and Sawanaga are trying to wake up our unconscious street fighter. Thankfully, Koizumi's bodyguard didn't hit him that hard. After pouring some water on Itou's damaged face, he finally regains his senses.

"Wha...?" He starts and is suddenly hugged by his girlfriend.

"Thank goodness you're okay." She says with relief in her voice.

"Wha... What happened? Why am I on the floor?"

"You went into berserker rage in order to tear apart Koizumi, broke some guy's jaw and was finally stopped with left straight to the face." I answer.

"Fat fas a nife hit." Omazaki says, wiping his bloodied chin with a handkerchief.

"Berserker rage?" He asks confused.

"You thought that Koizumi-san sent Kiyoura-san to the hospital." Katsura explains with worried tone. He finally reminds himself of events that happened short before his glorious fainting.

"Where is she?" He asks and I'm sure that he will go into another berserker rage if we don't stop him.

"I'm here, Itou." Suddenly, Natsumi appears, along with Kazuya and Omazaki. "And I suggest you staying on the floor if you don't want to lose your ribs... Especially that I didn't even touch Kiyoura-san." She says, again without even slightest flinch.

"You think I will believe you?" He growls angrily.

"You better do so." Kazuya answers with harsh tone.

"Looks like the break is going to end soon." Koizumi says and gives us a smile... But this isn't a sincere smile. It's only a mask that hides inner evil behind it. "I hope we'll see each other today. Goodbye." She turns on her feet and walks away, along with her bodyguards.

The hell? I mean, since when does she have bodyguards?

"Who are those two?" Nanami asks.

"The one with broken jaw is Omazaki Ryan." Sekai says. "He's actually pretty nice and I do believe he protected Koizumi-san just because Makoto was rushing at her. The second one, on the other hand... Sensui Kazuya. It is said that he used to be a member of some underground street gang. Fierce, brash and dangerous, shouldn't be crossed.

"I see... It appears that Koizumi's trying to rebuild their group. Katou-san would be proud." I say venomously.

"...Or maybe she's afraid." Sawanaga suddenly says, surprsing us. "She, along with Katou-san and Obuchi-san, used to bully Katsura-san. Both Katou-san and Obuchi-san are dead."

"If that's the case, then Kumi-san should be safe." Hikari adds. "She too bullied Katsura-san, but after all she felt sorry for her actions and asked for forgiveness..."

"Something like that." I say, looking at the clock on the wall. "We better hurry if we don't want to be late." I add.

We're grouped together after school in order to visit Setsuna in the hospital. Our group, but also Ashikaga, Kasanoin, Kumi and many other classmen from our class. Well, she maybe is a very severe class rep, but everyone loved her since she treats everyone equally. There's no reduce fare even for Sekai, her best friend.

Doctor was actually incredibly surprised when he saw all this people. Students, Setsuna's mum, parents of Katsura-san, along with her little sister, Sekai's mum, some little girl that was identified as younger sister of Itou(I didn't even know that he has one), some waitresses from Radish...

"Family and best friends _erste_." Doctor keeps repeating this while trying to hold the door against this crowd. He's got incredibly hilarious German accent that could make me laugh if not the situation. After discouraging the crowd with a scary looking bone-saw, he finally allowed me, Sekai, Itou, Katsura-san and Ms. Kiyoura to enter the room where Setsuna was lying.

Thankfully, she didn't seem to be very damaged. Just a few bruises, just like Katsura-san said. She still was lifeless though.

"I'm afraid that _sie _will be unconscious for some time." Medic says with this German accent of his.

"How long?" Setsuna's mum asks with anxiety in her voice. I haven't seen her in person since now, so I can say that, despite being in middle-age she looks like twenty.

"I cannot say for sure, but I do believe at least _zwei_ hours." Doctor responds, while trying to keep the others from rushing in with a... crossbow? Okay... He's not your usual cheerful man from your neighbourhood. "Ah, _schweinhunds._ It appears that I'm no longer able to prevent the other visitors from coming in. You've got only five minutes left." He takes his bonesaw from a table. Looks like he's gonna sacrifice himself in order to not keep us busy.

Sekai sits next to Kiyoura. She's worried. Of course she is. Her best friend was beaten by unknown people and for an unknown reason. She's still with us, though... So maybe it's just a warning? Maybe she saw too much? But if that's the case, it would be wiser to actually kill or at least blind her... Maybe she caught the murderer off guard? But even if, then why she is still alive? It's not like I'm not happy that she's still with us... But this is rather not logical.

"Don't worry, Kiyoura-san." Itou says, while holding her little hand. "We'll find the one who hurt you. I promise."

"Please don't trouble yourself." Ms. Kiyoura says. "Although I would be grateful for punishing the culprit, you can end up in some mess... I do believe Setsuna wouldn't want it."

"If you insist, Kiyoura-sama..." He responds, although he doesn't seem pleased with this answer. Suddenly, we can hear some screams. These are screams full of fear and grief.

"_Alle, _hold back!" I can hear doctor's command.

"What's happening?" Katsura-san asks, a little scared.

"I do believe we've got a problem." I say, peeking behind the wall. So, what do we have... Good lord! I can feel that my face goes chalk white.

It's a girl. She's in Sakakino Gakuen's school uniform. She's got medium-length hair in dark brown color. She's armed. With a chainsaw. The chainsaw's blade is already red. Stained with blood of some unlucky nurse. The girl's eyes are filled with anger and insanity. She sees me... And smiles.

Her name's Natsumi Koizumi.


	9. Chapter 9: Katsura's second request

**Another chapter, hope you will like it. Enjoy. **

Whoever said that Japanese are calm, shy and friendly people was either very lucky or dimwitted as hell.

Koizumi closes to me, with this bloodied chainsaw. She's got psychotic grin on her face that makes me think how lucky I was up until this moment.

"Good afternoon." She greets me politely, although I can see that her eyes speak totally different. She's already lost it. Her own sanity, buried under tons of anger and senseless hatred towards the world.

"I'm surprised... To see you here, Koizumi-san." I respond as calm as I can. However, my chalk white skin uncovers my emotions. I'm scared...No, I'm mortified.

"I thought that I will visit Kiyoura-san. After all, it's not nice to know that your acquaintance was beaten by someone... And I'm here to help her feel better." She says with smile. No, it's not a smile. It's a smirk.

"I'm afraid that she cannot talk right now."

"I know. This will make things much easier both for her and me. " Suddenly, I can feel some presence next to me. It's this German doctor, now armed with a bone-saw and a few syringes.

"_Mein Junge, _I do believe you should take a step back now." He says seriously, standing in a fighting pose. Is he mad? She's armed with chainsaw, for Alastor's sake! "Barricade yourself in the room and _rufen _to the police." He also adds. Natsumi just stands there, still smiling.

"We've got this drug you've been asking for, Doc!" From the depths of a corridor, Sawanaga and Kasanoin approach. Nanami's boyfriend is holding something in his hand. It looks like... Well, a drug.

"_Gut Gemacht._" Man of science takes the bottle from Kyouichi's hands. "How's the evacuation going?"

"Almost everyone escaped safely." Sawanaga reports, while giving a little looks at Koizumi.

"Almost?" I ask dully.

"Some of them panicked and scattered around the hospital. There's also a few patients unable to escape."

"Not good. In that case, we need to stop _diese Fraulein_ as quick as we can... Wait, where is she?" He asks. I look at the place where Natsumi was standing just a few moments before... She's nowhere here.

"She ran away." Taisuke says with disbelief.

"We can follow her by these traces of blood." Kasanoin adds, pointing at little red points.

"But why did she run away?" Sawanaga keeps asking.

And then, I've got an enlightment.

"Sawanaga. You imbecile." I growl. "You've just given her an excellent idea."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"She will go to these poor patients and take them hostage... Then, she will start dispatching every single one, one after another... Unless we'll fulfill her wishes." Taisuke goes pale. Okay, he maybe isn't the brightest candle, but this?

"What wishes?" Kyouichi asks seriously. He seems to be a little less moved than Sawanaga.

"Lifes of Setsuna and Katsura-san." I respond after a short while. No one answers. "Mr. Medicine, we need to gather everyone who can pick a weapon and use it properly. If we want to live, we need to go hunting." I say, looking at my fingers. They're moving erratically, without any sense of order at all. They're insane.

It starts.

"What kind of... Uh, weaponry, do we have?" Itou asks with anxiety. We're sitting in Setsuna's room, debating about the problem. Doctor sighs.

"Not much: This bone-saw, crossbow and syringes save for everything usable as a weapon that is in a hospital." He responds in a worried tone. "To be honest, I've never experienced such kind of... visitor during my work here. Well, it's time to remind myself of a few tricks from the past."

"So, who's gonna go?" Sekai asks. She's scared... But I do believe we're all, except maybe this mysterious medic.

"I will." Makoto says. He's got balls, I must admit it.

"Then so will I." Sawanaga adds with a cheerful smile. I'm afraid he doesn't know what's he doing.

"Me too." Kasanoin says, although he isn't even as half enthusiastic as Taisuke. Maybe that's because he's got a girlfriend?

"And I will." I say after a short while. What the hell am I doing? It's a deathwish!

"Then we've reached the agreement." German doctor says, standing up and picking his bone-saw. "The others that will stay here, please barricade the door with this metal shelf. It should be enough to prevent the girl from entering here..." Suddenly, we can hear Natsumi's distorted voice from speakers.

"Good afternoon everyone. I've got a news for you: Three young souls are very close to be erased from existence. If you don't want them to be killed, send Katsura-san and Kiyoura-san to the canteen. They have to be alone or I kill both them and the kids. Oh, by the way, Kotonoha..." Why does she use Katsura-san's first name? "Your sister is very brave, telling me to "flock off". You don't want to fail her, do you?" Koizumi starts giggling and Katsura-san... Well, she's pale. She sits on a free bed, in a state of deep shock. "You've got only one hour." Natsumi stops talking, leaving us in silence.

Suddenly, I've got an idea.

"Mr. Medicine, is there any way to make a contact back to the place where Koizumi is now?"

"I do believe that _ja_." He responds, giving worried looks at wrecked Katsura-san.

"Sweet. Let's change the rules of her game." I say with a smirk. I don't what am I doing. Why I'm so eager to die? Just because to protect my friends? Ridicolous.

In fact, killing the bitch will be immensly satisfactory.

...Wait. Did I really think like that? Since when? It sounds very... Stratoavis-like.

I will think about it later when I'll finally get the hell out of here.

"Koizumi-san, are you there?" I ask to the microphone near the speaker.

"Well, if it isn't our lovely foreigner." She responds with a mocking tone. "What do you want? Some kind of heroic sacrifice instead of your friends?"

"Kind of. Let's just say that I would like to see you in person, since there's a thing that we should discuss about."

"And what's that?" I lower my voice to a whisper and smile maliciously.

"I thought you would want to see Katou-san's murderer personally." For a longer time, there's no response. Finally, Koizumi starts saying again.

"Let's meet in a canteen."

"Not until you'll set free the kids."

"You want to argue with me?"

"Oh, I do believe you don't have much of a choice. The police is coming and they won't speak to you politely. Instead, they're list you as an insane lunatic and shoot you or close in a mental asylum.

"I will free two of them. The last one, at cost of yours and Katsura's life. I will forgive Kiyoura since actually I don't have a reason to be against her... In fact, I was the one to kill Obuchi." Now I'm surprised. I expected that her madness is a result of Obuchi's death... But this?

"Why?" I ask dully.

"She was pissing me off." Koizumi responds carelessly, but her voice becomes darker and deeper in next sentence. "You better come alone or Katsura Kokoro will cease to exist." Her voice breaks, the line is silent again.

So it began. My madness will now develop into something totally different.

This is gonna be fun.

Thankfully(Or not), Katsura-san was willing to come with me in order to save her sister. It took quite a long time to convince Itou that he definitely shouldn't watch us from afar, because it can blow up the whole operation. In the end, Sawanaga and Kasanoin had to hold him tight, so he will not run with us. I could see he's almost as wrecked as Katsura-san was a few minutes before. I could see tears in his eyes. He was... He was crying. He couldn't stand it.

He wasn't the bastard which Himler told me about.

"Are you sure _Sie _want to go there?" Doctor asks us once again, with a concerned look. Sure, no one would like to see casualties in your work.

"It's the only thing we can do." I answer quietly. "Besides, I've never had an opportunity to meet a crazed murderer in person." I say, trying to joking. Suddenly, Sekai grabs me in half. She's crying.

"_Baka..._" She whispers, making an attempt in stopping me. I smile slightly and kiss her in a forehead.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." I say quietly, petting her head.

"Promise?" We're making an eye contact. She can easily tell that either I'm lying or I'm incredibly confident.

"Promise. I love you." I answer, hugging her. "After this mess, you need to meet my parents." I say, changing the topic. I cannot allow her to break. It would be soulless. She smiles slightly and wipes her tears.

"Good luck." She finally says, taking a step back. "You'll need it."

"There's no thing like luck. It's only about skills." I say, giving her a big grin and cracking my wrists. "I once said that I will never use violence against other people, even in the most extreme situations. Since Koizumi's so willing to fight us, I will however respond and accept the challenge." My fingers creak when I'm straightening them. "Now, when my life is on the edge, I shall drop the mask and unleash all my wrath that has been accumulated in my mind, heart and soul for these sixteen years. Childhood, primary school and junior high school, all of them were full of misery and isolation. They were good moments, but they were outshadowed by negative emotions." I whisper to myself, although a quick look at Katsura-san's face tells me she heard it. "It's time to be just." I say, creaking the neck. "Let's go, Katsura-san." Long-haired girl nods in "Yes" fashion.

Now, we're slowly moving through the corridor. Katsura-san is armed with a bone-saw that German doctor lent her. Since she's pretty good in kendo, she can use this bonesaw as a profiecent substitute of a katana. And what about me? Well, I used to practice Oyama karate when I was seven, aikido when I was ten and Enshin karate when I was eleven... But all these martial arts are nothing to me, considering the trump card in my deck. My joker. My way of disposing some of the most troublesome adversaries.

Krav Maga.

There's no grace in Krav Maga. There's no healthy rivarly in Krav Maga. There's no idealistic crap about training of spirit in Krav Maga. There's only a quick and effiecent way of dispatching opponents by any means. Even if practicioner of Krav Maga had to snap someone's neck, he or she will do it, as it's about his or her well-being.

Koizumi is going to share this fate.

Wait, what? Did I really think like that? Again, it's very Stratoavis-like. Could I possibly be that much linked with him that his way of thinking start to eliminate my way of thinking? Is this even possible?

Maybe I'm really insane.

"I'm sorry." I say to Katsura-san. She seems surprised.

"Excuse me?" She asks.

"Forgive me for getting you involved in this stuff."

"I was involved from the very beggining. From the day... From the very start of our education in Sakakino." She responds calmly. There's still life in her eyes. She's not insane. She's not gonna snap yet. She's determined to save her sister, but she's still not crazy. "Also, we can save not only Kokoro, but also Kiyoura-san as well." She says with a slight smile.

"Kokoro? Meaningful name."

"Isn't it?" Katsura giggles lightly. It doesn't sound appropiate, but oh well. "To be honest, I feel bad for Koizumi-san."

"She's a psychotic killer that holds your younger sister hostage." I answer with surprise in my voice.

"I mean that she's alone in this. There's no one who can support her or at least try to leave the violence behind." Katsura says sadly. She does have point... But why do I care? For me, Natsumi Koizumi is nothing more than a furious animal. And as a furious animal, she should be dispatched as quickly as possible.

"You, stop playing with my mind!" I growl to Stratoavis. He only murmurs something in return and doesn't say a thing after that.

"Is something wrong, Casper-kun?" Katsura asks with concern.

"Nah, it's okay... Kotonoha-san." I answer. Since we're going to die soon, we can possibly at least know each other. She blushes slightly. "Are you afraid?"

"Yes." She responds after a short while. "Aren't you?"

"I am, like hell incarnated." I say, looking at my creaking fingers. Suddenly, a thought comes to my mind.

"Kotonoha-san, would you believe me if I told you that I know possible future of your relationship?" I say. Katsura-san stops and gives me a truly surprised look. "I know, this sounds absurdly, but... I know that you have a darker side. "At first I thought that she won't buy it... But than, surprisingly, she nods with comprehension in her eyes."

"When I was like ten, I had an accident. We've been in train, when it went off the rails and fell down the road, crashing pretty big chunk of a highway. My father died and I was transported to the hospital with a very serious head injury... Thankfully, Kokoro and my mother were unharmed. I've seen many victims of this tragedy in this hospital, many of them were begging doctors to kill them..." She stops for a while. I haven't known that her father isn't a biological one. "They said that my brain was damaged and that I will in the future suffer some mental instability that can transform into permanent one if under some strong negative emotions. That's one of the two reasons for me to avoiding romantic relationships... If dumped, I could possibly become very dangerous... And hurt someone." She almost whispers these words. So Himler was right this time. "That's why I beg you for one favor. If... If Kokoro will be killed, kill me as well."

WHOA! Now that's something that I would never think of.

"You aren't serious, are you?" I ask with shock. She makes an eye-contact with me... And in her eyes I can only see determination. She's gentle and shy girl, but when in tight situations... I would never think about making such an request. "And what about Itou?" She shivers and takes a step back. Looks like I found the weak spot.

"Makoto-kun would not accept me... In this state." She finally says and starts viewing herself in a blade of a bone-saw. "Lone girl, abandoned by everyone and disliked by everyone... I don't want to end like this."

"Don't worry... The only person to die today is Koizumi." I say, while smiling maliciously... Wait. Did I really say that? It's progressing! I can hear his giggle in my head. He starts to capture my body and mind...

"What did you say?" Katsura-san asks me, surprised. I give her a look.

"Would you believe if I told you that I have some mental problems too?" I ask grimly. I've managed to silence this little bugger for some amount of time.

"I see." She says with comprehension in her voice.

"The problem is that I don't even have a reason to be... unstable." I continue, looking at my fingers moving erratically. "I... When all this fuss started, it began to consume me. I can resist it for now, but the longer it happens, the worse effects are... The only way I can stop it is to prevent the murderer from killing everyone near me... Even if this means to unleash lethal force..." I raise my voice. "We're going to stop this soon!"

"We are." She says with determination. We resume our journey to the canteen.

To the Natsumi Koizumi.

_All I see is Terror_

_All I see is Pain_

_All I see is mothers dragging children to their graves_

_A curse as old as time, an armageddon misery_

_Spectators of a World in ruins_

_Hypnotized I'm staring at_

_Impossible Brutality _

_Impossible Brutality_

_Impossible Brutality_

_Impossible Brutality_

_It's all there was, it's all there'll ever be_

_All I see is Violence_

_All I see is Hate_

_All I see is tyrants dragging servants on a chain_

_A curse as old as time, an armageddon misery_

_Spectators of a World in ruins_

_Paralyzed I'm staring at_

_Impossible Brutality_

_Impossible Brutality_

_Impossible Brutality_

_Impossible Brutality_

_It's all there was, it's all there'll ever be_

Whispering Kreator's song during such an immense and dangerous situation. Truly, it certainly will help me overcome the fear.

"Why won't you just leave everything to me?" Stratoavis asks with viciousness in his voice.

"Because if I allow you do to everything you please, I won't be much better than she is."

"And now you're an idealist, huh?" My evil twin mock me, laughing quietly.

"I don't want to lose my own sanity, unlike you." I respond angrily.

"Who said I want lose my senses? It's you that think I've already lost them."

"Your obsession about defeating the evil at all costs is dangerous."

"Who would have guess that YOU said such thing. After all, you're the one who created this obsession."

"I know... But the best that you can do at this moment is to shut up and, if you want, you can cheer me up when I'll be trying to neutralize Koizumi along with Katsura-san."

"Whatever." With this one-liner, Stratoavis finally stops talking.

I can feel a sensation going through my body back and forth. Soon I will meet with the incarnation of horror. The girl whose insanity started with Katou-san's death. The girl that will kill more people if we don't stop her. Her name is Natsumi Koizumi and she used to be a human.

Katsura-san pushes the door of a canteen.

"So... You've come."


	10. Chapter 10: Natsumi's insanity

**Another chapter, this time with some few surprises and... Unexpected plot twist. Enjoy.**

**Koizumi's POV**

"So... You've come." I say, seeing them. Katsura and her bodyguard from Nothingville. Honestly, just look at him. He thinks that he can fight with me and win. I can read it from his face, he's determined to neutralize me in every way possible.

Too bad it's me that have a chainsaw.

Everything was as I predicted. Kotonoha is too much of a gentle soul to ignore her younger sister's life... However, presence of this boy that stands next to her with cold determination in his eyes is more then unpleasant. I wouldn't bother to take care of him, since he was only a minor annoyance and occasionally even a helpful ally.

But I can't forgive Katou-san's murderer, especially because he flatly admitted he killed her. No emotions whatsoever, maybe even a mockery in his voice. He didn't have a justified reason to kill Katou-san. He didn't feel sorry for his actions. And now, he's insolent enough to come here.

He deserves to die.

It all started when I've heard about Katou-san's death. Something in myself broke into tiny pieces, leaving only an empty space in heart and soul. She was full of life, energy and cheerfullness. She was incredible. I admired her with passion as a true leader of our group. Unfortunately, her target was Kotonoha Katsura, this lovely girl from our class. When I've saw her for the first time, I thought everything since this moment was meaningless. Not only she was incredibly beautiful physically, but also she had shy and kind heart. For me, she was perfect... I think I love her. I would like to have her at my own disposal, with all of her kindness and beauty.

I couldn't forgive Katou-san for bullying Kotonoha, but I couldn't force myself to stand against her actions. She was always accompanied by two other followers: Obuchi and the second one whom name sadly I don't even remember. The last one wasn't actually of an issue, since she was in similiar situation as myself... Obuchi, however, was even more ruthless and sadistic than Katou-san. I despised her with everything: My mind, my soul, my heart and my body. I could hardly stand her presence nearby me. I would kill her earlier... But I didn't want to make Katou-san upset.

Since end of the first semester, boy named Itou Makoto started showing his interest in Kotonoha. This made Katou-san even more angry at her than before since she had a crush on Itou... And thus, her anger doubled her sadism and cruelty towards Kotonoha, while Obuchi happily followed. I could feel everything in me goes crazy from fury... But I thought it's gonna be okay. Itou was showing some true affection towards Kotonoha, so I thought he will protect her enough. At cost of my happiness with her, I chose.

Then, he showed up.

This guy, foreigner. He was, however, even more dedicated to protect Kotonoha. He confronted us several times, worried about her and also made sure that Itou won't cheat on her. He was like a perfect big brother...

And now, I find out that he's the murderer.

Why? Is he was that much dedicated to protect Kotonoha, I thought... But the enlightment hit me suddenly. He was always joking that he's insane and therefore it isn't advised to be near him. Everything was clear to me.

He truly was insane and tried to warn us. Nobody listened to him, they keep close to him, his insanity finally reached the final point of growth.

He killed her. With a sadistic smile on his face.

This event, however, gave me an opportunity to strike Obuchi with just punishment. She didn't deserve to be alive. Her presence was corrupting the world.

And now, the world is much, much cleaner.

I can feel it... As well as that if I remove the murderer, it will gain another, new dimension of utopian atmosphere.

Everything for you, my beloved Kotonoha.

I wonder if not to kill her younger sister as well. She's annoying and clearly doesn't accept me... But I don't want to make Kotonoha upset... I will think about it later.

"We've got the deal, remember?" The foreigner says grimly, pointing at Kotonoha's sister. Ah yes, we do have. Quoting myself, their lives in exchange for her sister's existence. Too bad he doesn't know the real plan.

"Don't worry, I remember about everything." I say, trying to stay cool. I will drop the mask when necessary. "Now, you're first."

"Very well then, but don't you think it's a little unfair?" He tries to be brave, but I can see he's shivering. He certainly doesn't want to die. No one wants.

"What are you implying?" I ask, absorbing his irritation mixed with fear with satisfaction.

"You're armed, I'm not. Let's keep it clean." He responds, cracking his knuckles. I see what are you trying to accomplish, but I'm afraid I'm wiser than you think. "For the sake of Katsura-san and Katsura-chan." He adds, surprising me. What is he talking about? "You don't want to disgust them, showing my precious interior, do you?" He asks and I can hear a mocking tone in his voice, but... He's right. I don't want Kotonoha to see violence. I'm afraid she's already seen too much.

"Fine then." I respond, putting my chainsaw back and clenching my fists. I'm adept in karate, it should be enough to bring this bastard down. "I shall avenge Katou-san with my bare hands!" I yell, ready to battle. He doesn't answer, instead he leans slightly forward and spread out his hands. His fingers move erratically, a little like some independent beings.

That's it. He cannot even control his body. There's no cure for him. I, however, will finally end his misery.

I rush towards him. He doesn't move. Clearly he's waiting for me and probably hoping that I will get too close to him. I suddenly stop, a few steps before "safety line". He doesn't even blink, silently waiting. He's either very good or very confident in his fighting skills. Fortunately, I've got him at the range of kick, so I can safely attack. I don't think he knows that. Besides, as a typical male, he's likely very vulnerable when it comes down to underwear. I cannot believe that I'll utilise such unusual strategy, but... Everything for Kotonoha.

I try to kick him, directly in the nose. Let's hope I'll be able to break his glasses and, therefore, make him less of a threat. I can feel that my miniskirt is up and I feel embarassed, horribly embarassed. He, however, doesn't seem moved by this maneuver and, to my horror, he easily blocks the kick with his right hand and closes to make an attack on his own. I don't even have time to block as he hits me in the face with studded glove. It isn't that strong to shake me off, but I can feel it very clearly... And then comes another one, this time in the chest. You bastard! I finally manage to leap away from him. Pain's starting to slowly assaulting my cheek and my left breast. He straightens himself up and gives me a mocking smile.

"So... You are truly deranged." He says quietly.

"What... What are you talking about?" I ask, trying to catch a steady breath.

"You're mad enough to actually believe that I killed Katou-san. Too bad it was only a simple lie, which task was to make sure if you contain at least tiny bit of sanity."

"Wha...?" I can feel anger raging in my body. How dare he accuse me of murdering Katou-san?

"In fact, YOU are the one responsible for this. Too bad that you're nuts enough to believe in everything that I told you." He makes a step forward.

"How dare you...?"

"I dare, Koizumi. I'm perfectly clean... You, meanwhile, are not."

"I didn't kill Katou-san!" I scream fiercely, clenching my fists to the blood. It hurts, but I don't care. If I have to torn him apart, I will.

"Of course you didn't, it was only an unfortunate accident." He says mockingly, taking another step. My eyes go wide, my teeth are striking each other with tremendous force, my palms bleed. That's it! Forgive me, Kotonoha, but it's gotta be done!

I turn back just to see that... chainsaw dissappeared. Where it is? I can see that it's held by... her. She has fear in her eyes, but this fear is combined with determination to keep me away from this deadly weapon... Me? I can feel that my hands are grabbed tightly by this foreigner. I try to release myself, with no effect.

"And everything comes to an end." He whispers to my ear with mockery in his voice.

"Let me go!" I scream in answer, tearing up. Nothing, his grip is like a steel press. I give up and give one look to my dear, sweet Kotonoha, who looks at me with utter terror in her eyes. But... But why? I only wished your happiness. Why do you reject me?

"You want to know, why?" Someone's voice asks me in my mind. I can see someone who resembles the foreigner, but this person is... Different. In his eyes, there's only madness, mixed with some kind of viciousness and desire to bring brutal justice to everyone. He's armed with two rust red cleavers-like swords.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"My name's not important, especially considering the fact that I'm the last person that you will speak on equal terms." He responds.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"You're accused of triple murder, holding captives, threatening and triple attempt of murder." He says, pointing my crimes... Crimes? Did I... Did I really commit a crime? "You're very likely to get executed soon. Lovely, isn't it?" He adds and starts cackling maniacally.

"But..." I try to say, but he interrupts me.

"There's no "but". You're insane, Natsumi Koizumi, insane. However, although there's no redemption for you, you can still get your revenge."

"Revenge...?"

"Of course... But I'm not talking about Casper." He says, surprsing me. But there's no one else I would like to give an appropiate punishment... "I'm talking about your lovely Kotonoha." He says with malicious smile on his face. I can feel that shock is attacking my body with sheer, brutal force.

"No...NO! You will not convince me to hurt Kotonoha!" I yell fierecely, trying to slap him. Whoever he is, he's no better then the foreigner. He grabs my palm in mid-air and tightens grip with venomous grin. I can hear my bones are... creaking and breaking. I scream, tormented by pain.

"I will give you proper arguments to do so..." He says quietly. "Let's start with the most basic of basics. She doesn't love you at all. For her, you're only a crazed murderer whose purpose seems to be only to inflict as much pain and torment to the others as possible."

"N-no! You're definitely wrong!"

"Look at her. She's scared. She doesn't see a human, but an animal... Secondly, she already have a boyfriend, so even if you weren't a crazed murderer, it's unlikely for you to score... Finally..." He pauses for a while. What did he want to achieve? Why is he trying to turn me against Kotonoha?

Who is he?

"Finally..." He resumes. "She... Betrayed... You."

The horror of this sentence is the fact that it's completely true. I look at this beautiful face of Kotonoha Katsura... And suddenly, I notice a vicious, cynical smirk that breaks everything.

I'm in darkness. Sad, alone and wrecked. Everything that I loved... Everything that I wished for... Everything appears to be only a cruel joke of Heavens. I don't want it to end like this...

The betrayer must pay.

_Casper's _and **Koizumi's **POV

_She's filled with anger. Thankfully, she's away from her deadly weapon of choice, so it shouldn't be a problem to keep her like that until the police arrive. _

**You will die, all of you. I can assure you... But the betrayer must die first. Even if my fate is to be executed, I will take you with me!**

_Katsura-san puts the chainsaw nearby and watches the scene with grim expression. She's already sent her younger sister back to the room where the others are. _

**I need to break his grip. Luckily for me, he loosed it a bit, so if I fit in the best moment, I should be able to release myself... And kill the betrayer. **

_Looks like Koizumi's trying to do something... There's however no need to... Oh, good Lord!_

**Free, at last!**

_Holy hell, she's running towards the chainsaw! She grabs it... And she has a murderous intent in her eyes. Now we're screwed._

**He thinks that I'm after him. Maybe, we shall see... But since he's so indecisive, it'll give me enough time to serve justice to the betrayer. She already knows that I want to kill her. She draws a bone-saw, trying to defend herself. Well then, bring it on!**

_What to do, what to do...? Koizumi engages Katsura-san in combat. Kendo or not, Kotonoha won't last long... But what can I actually do against chainsaw-armed deranged killer? Oh no... Katsura-san lost her weapon!_

**She was defending herself pretty well, but the justice is on my side. The betrayer must die! I knock her back with a kick and prepare to swing the chainsaw and end her pitiful life. The betrayer must die. The betrayer must die! THE BETRAYER MUST DIE! THE... BETRAYER... MUST... What the?**

_It's... strange. Some would say I'm stupid as bag of rocks, the others would call it "Heroic Sacrifice". But where are the fanfares, crowds speaking your name with admiration and so on? _

**He... He throw himself under the chainsaw in order to protect Katsura? I drop it and I can hear that the blade stops rotating. I can feel his still warm blood on my face, marking my cheek and lips. Lips of the murderer...**

_There's only one more thing to do. I can feel that I'm going paler and weaker with each second, but since Koizumi dropped her weapon for a while, it should be enough. I grab her neck and - with last malicious smile I can serve to this bitch - snap it with satisfactory crunch. Stratoavis would be proud. _

**He grabs my neck. I can look in his eyes... These aren't his eyes. These are the eyes of the boy who convinced me to attack Katsura. He knew that it will end my life in no time... And yet I've listened to him. Casper gives me a smile. Smile of a sadist and monster...**

**Then everything went black.**

Casper's POV

So, I'm lying on the floor, dying by the clean chest cut from chainsaw.

Yeah. Stratoavis would be proud as hell.


	11. Chapter 11: Casper's thoughts

**Another chapter. Don't worry, Casper's gonna survive, at least for now. Meanwhile, enjoy.

* * *

**"Will you stop self-pity yourself? Who the hell are you, a whiny ten-years old?" Stratoavis's angry voice wakes me up. What the...? I'm still alive?

"Before you ask, yeah, you're alive. Barely, but alive... You know what's funny in this situation? You almost kicked the bucket not because of chainsaw's hit, but because of heart attack." He cackles venomously.

"But, how...?" I can only ask, lost in confusion.

"She barely scratched you. Sure, you'll have now some wicked Sagat-like scar through your chest, but you're gonna be okay... Assuming that you won't pass out because of fear." He adds with slight disgust in his voice. "Why did you do it?" He asks curiously. "Only a few centimeters further and you'll be killed off for real with no second chance."

"I didn't want Katsura-san to be killed, that's all."

"At cost of your own life?"

"Besides, this surprising act gave me enough time to get rid of her."

"Sure, that was some lovely necksnapping." He says with disgusting smile.

"You're sickening." I say quietly.

"Oh no. YOU are sickening, since you're the one who gave me life." He retorts with the same smile. "But we will talk about it later. And hey, here's the bright side: Now you can carefully describe necksnaps in your stories!"

"Yeah, wonderful."

* * *

Lights on the ceiling dazzle me. I try to rise my left hand, with no effect. The sounds are weak, but strong enough to hear them. It's this German doctor and Sawanaga. It appears they're trying to patch me up. I try to move, only to be stopped by enormous pain. I scream in pain which catches Taisuke's attention.

"Doc, he's conscious!" He says enthusiastically. I can now see his face, filled with concern mixed with fear, but also relief. "You'll be a goddamn hero of Sakakino Gakuen, I can assume you!" He adds with smile.

"Where's Katsura-san?" I ask weakly. I can suddenly feel my forehead getting warmer. The fever took an opportunity to strike at the right moment.

"She and Saionji-san are in room next to this one. If you want, I can..."

"No, no... It's okay. Glad to know they're safe and untouched... Too bad the murderer was murderered." I say grimly, raising my head and looking at lifeless body of Natsumi Koizumi. She still has a surprise in her eyes, even though she cannot even feel anything anymore.

When it comes down to it, she's kinda lucky.

"It was self-defense." Sawanaga responds with serious face. "You've been protecting both you and Katsura-san. The extremes have to be taken."

"You're suspiciously allright with a fact that girl from your school has been killed by your friend." I say with slight surprise.

"What can I say? Strong eats weak." I wouldn't say this joke was appropiate at this moment, but oh well. "By the way, Kiyoura-san woke up."

"Good to know. How's the bruise?" I ask, trying to look at my new, still fresh body addiction. Unfortunately, pain prevents me from doing so.

"Still bloody, but Doc says you'll be okay... But hey, bruises are said to get girls aroused."

So typical for Taisuke Sawanaga.

"Quoting Katsura Kokoro, "flock off"." I say with fake anger. He just smiles and stands up. Now the doctor is the one to visiting me.

"How are you feeling?" He asks cautiously.

"I still cannot rise myself up even a little bit, but talking doesn't make any problems." I respond, continuing to looking at Natsumi's lifeless eyes. There's something amazing in eyes of a dead man. They seem to be two black holes, sucking the matter into them and leaving only void where nothing can survive.

Why actually I don't feel any remorse for her? I killed her, didn't I?

Stupid Casper, it was self-defense. You've been protecting yourself and Katsura-san, as well as the others.

Don't kid yourself. You're a murderer, just like Koizumi was. Is this chain going to persist? If I'm the killer now, who's gonna be next? It's like domino pieces, falling one after another. It drives me crazy...

To be honest, not really. I'm perfectly okay with a fact that I've just killed another person... Although I don't want to do it again. It's not right.

I'm going to be in trouble because of it. Police is very likely to question me. What can I say to them?

It was self-defence.

Of course it was.

* * *

I'm still a little dizzy after this incident. I can feel the pain in my chest that burts occasionally. Doc said that it should end after a few weeks, so I need to wait.

To be honest, I'm a little tired right now. From every single corner of Sakakino Gakuen, admiration towards me rises to ludicrous extremes. Everyone wants to at least talk with hero, thank him for saving their lives(Because, you know, they expected that the killer would attack them as well) and stuff like that. Hilariously, some of the girls are now trying to seduce me in craziest way imaginable. I call it a straightforward rape, for Alastor's sake: I swear they're walking in groups and trying to gangbang me. Thankfully, my friends understand that I'm not pleased with this sudden increase of my fame, so they're trying their best to cover me up. Sawanaga even attempted his own try of seducing, but ended up in trash can, thrown by angry basketball team members.

Now I'm sneaking through the corridor, with Itou, Katsura-san and Sekai cowering me in case that... Some bad things will happen. There's a girl who apparently is adept in fetishes as she still repeat the same thing: "I want you to break MY neck".

She doesn't know that killing another person is nothing to joke about... But I'm getting gloomy. Let's cut this topic, shall we?

We finally made it to the exit. No crazy fangirls nearby. I breathe a sigh of relief and, to my irritation, I can hear both Kotonoha and Makoto giggling.

"It isn't fun being a hero." I say bitterly, emphasising the last word with cynical tone.

We(I mean, myself and Sekai) parted ways with Itou and Katsura-san in a halfway to the train station. This one where everything started and where life of Katou-san ended. She, however, seemed pleased with the finale. I remember our chatter two days after Koizumi's death.

We were sitting on a pale red couch, covered by leather blanket. She still in her school uniform, I - in black T-shirt, black jeans and black sneakers.

"So... Are you satisified?" I ask after a short while of silence. She turned her face into my direction and started pondering about the answer.

"I think I can name it like that." She finally said with mixed expressions. She seemed pretty delighted, but sad as well. Koizumi still was one of her friends. "To be honest, however, I didn't expect her to have such fragile psyche."

"At least she found some peace." I retort grimly, looking at my fingers. Since this one necksnap, they've stopped moving erratically. What does it mean? Am I starting to go back to my senses? But how killing someone in such vicious way could actually help me... get normal?

"You know... I don't have any idea why she would want me dead." Katou said.

"So, you didn't know who killed you?"

"Yeah, I wasn't paying attention to her face, trying not to fall. Too bad I failed."

"You, however, look pretty cool for someone who reminds herself about her own death." She smiles slightly.

"I've got plenty of time to think about it. Sure, it isn't pleasant neither for me, my parents or Karen, but... Now, when I've understood that I've been hurting Katsura-san all the time just because of my jealousy, it makes me think that my death was something that unlocked a new path of life for Katsura-san."

"Interesting, but you surely do have a point: Itou and Katsura-san surely closed to each other... How ironic."

"Excuse me?" She asked, surprised.

"This Itou Makoto is by far the best I've seen." I responded quietly, with slight smile.

"What do you mean by "this"?"Katou seemed to be even more puzzled.

"_I guess I can help in this matter." _Our of nowhere, Himler appeared with a smile on his fake face. "_You see, Frau Katou, the world as you, humans, know it, is only of a many other dimensions. In some of them, tragedy in Sakakino Gakuen was spinning around the presence of Herr Itou. In these worlds, he was nothing more than only a disgusting playboy and casanova, manipulating his fellow classmates to achieve his goals... And his goals were, to put it short, females from Sakakino Gakuen._" Otome seemed really surprised, but I think it wasn't because of the story about several worlds, but rather about facts from "lifes" of Itou. "_In particulary notorious dimension, victims of his lust were Frau Saionji several times, Frau Kuroda, you, Frau Katou; Frau Obuchi, Minami und Kumi at once respectively. Ironically, he never had an opportunity to strip Frau Katsura from her virginity."_

"You say I've got a..." Katou started turning red, but I couldn't tell if this is because of her embarassment or rather anger. Well, Himler should be little less direct, when it comes down to such things. "Im-impossible! What a moron would think about such a...?" She shouted both with anger and embarassment in her voice. I smiled slightly when she started waving her hands around like they were a windmill's wings. She finally cooled and rubbed her temple with irritation. "And what happened to him later?"

_"One day, Herr Itou impregnated Frau Saionji and promptly dumped her when he found out. She found him and Katsura-san hugging each other and kissing in front of her. As you can probably imagine, it was not a pleasant experience for Frau Saionji." _I swear, Himler can be even more vicious and sinister than Stratoavis, but he's likely doing it accidentally, unlike my evil twin.

"...And?" Katou asked bluntly.

"_Frau Saionji stabbed Herr Itou multiple times with a kitchen knife, causing him to die from the injuries. When Frau Katsura found out, she made a call to Frau Saionji with a request of meeting at the school's rooftop. The two started a fight, from which Frau Katsura emerged victorious by slashing Frau Saionji's throat and then ripping her stomach cut open to make sure if Frau Saionji really was pregnant... Oh, did I say too much?" _He asked with falsely concern tone, looking at Katou, who started turning green.

"Moron." I only growled angrily. He served me a cheerful smile. Suddenly, Otome grabbed me by shirt's collar and looked into my eyes with anger and madness.

"If you won't keep him like he is now, I'll haunt you every night and every day, until you kick the bucket. Got it?"

"Got it, ma'am." I responded calmly. After all, I'm the master in this place and I can recreate with my own will. Katou-san, however, is right: My task is to keep everything intact. "I promise you, Katou-san, I will keep everything in their right place."

BANG!

Why I see stars? There are so many of them, each one spinning fiercely in their own direction...

"Casper-kun, are you okay?" Sekai's voice makes these stars dissappear instantly. Wha...? Why am I lying on the pavement? "Are you okay?" She asks once again.

"Yeah... Yeah, I think so... But what happened?" I ask, confused.

"You hit a lamppost." She says, relieved and with a slight smile. I can see she's laughing at me.

"Very funny, Saionji, very funny." I say venomously while standing up. I can still feel the scar.

"You know, it's good to have you by my side." I say after a short while. She blushes slightly, but responds only after a short while.

"Thanks. It means very much for me."

"Good to know." We're hugging each other. Her happiness and tears of joy are the best reward I can earn."Let's go, we've promised something to Setsuna." I say after a short while.

"Yup, let's go." Sekai responds with a cheerful smile.

* * *

I promised Saionji that we will visit Kiyoura-san today. It isn't that much of a deal, since actually I wanted to know how she's doing. Apparently, she's okay enough to talk with the visitors. Doc said that she will be able to leave in about three days. Also, summer holiday is going to start soon, so she will be okay just in time.

Now we're sitting in her room, chatting with each other. She was okay enough to even play chess with us. She beat Sekai into a bloody pulp, I succumbed much later, but still Setsuna's victory was flawless. She's really good in this.

"So, did I miss something important at school?" She asks us while sipping green tea.

"Not really." I answer with light tone. "Save for some mysterious class rep duties, I do believe there was nothing interesting."

"Not even a single exam. Nothing to worry, Setsuna." Sekai adds with smile. Kiyoura, however, looks like she's been expecting a different answer. Is she a worcaholic or something?

"Sekai, can you leave us two for a moment?" She suddenly asks, surprising both me and Saionji.

"Uh... Sure, no problem." She says after a while and leaves the room. There's a silence for longer amount of time.

"Katsura-san told me about your reckless maneuver." She says quietly. I know what she's talking about, my heroic selfthrow under the chainsaw.

"I do it in order to protect her." I answer flatly.

"I would slap you if I could." She responds angrily. "You promised me that, no matter what, you'll be with Sekai and you'll take care of her. And now you've thrown yourself under the chainsaw."

"If I didn't do it, both of us would die." I understand her anger, but I need to make her cool off. She looks at me, then slightly rises up her head and summons me with a slight gesture. I bend up lightly, curious what she would want. Setsuna suddenly rises up even more, pulls me by my neck and passionately kisses, directly in lips. I cannot even take a step back, I'm that much surprised. I push her back lightly, still with shock in my eyes.

"K-Kiyoura..." I can only say. She smiles slightly.

"Don't worry, I was just testing you." She says, making me breathe a sigh of relief, big sigh of relief. "You really do seem to be faithful to Sekai and I'm glad to see that. I want you to do a one favor for me though."

"Yeah, what is it?" I ask, still a little puzzled because of this sudden situation.

"Promise me that you'll never again throw your life so recklessly." She says with a serious face on her face. Yeah, she's pretty and she does have a powerful character, but I've got a girlfriend right now. Triangle is not acceptable.

"I promise... Setsuna." I answer quietly.

"Oh, by the way, you and Sekai are invited to the party organised by Kumi-san." Kiyoura says, rising herself slightly.

"Party?"

"Yes. She's holding a big party for all of her classmates and us as honourable guests. Me, you and Sekai, Itou and Katsura-san, Kuroda-san, Kanroji-san, Kasanoin-san, Sawanaga, Ashikaga-san, Omazaki-san, also Sensui-san and Ishida-san." I don't know the last surname.

"Ishida-san? Who's that?" I ask, puzzled.

"She's right behind you." Setsuna responds. I turn back to notice some strange girl. She's very... Um, I think "unusual" would be the good word. She's got long green hair(Probably painted), tied in a long ponytail that resembles Katou-san's a little... Little too much for me. She also has gold eyes, something extraordinary, and is pretty blessed by Mother Nature if you know what I mean.

"My face's a little higher, you know?" She says with irritated tone. I blush rapidly.

"Oh, forgive me." I answer, bowing officially. "How can I help you, Ishida-san?"

"I need to talk to you. Four eyes, no witnesses." She responds with serious voice. Looks like I've got involved in some serious business.

And now, I remember.

Reina Ishida was introudced in our class only two days earlier than me. She was half-American, half-Japanese(Or something like that), she was also said to be a daughter of this famous Japanese detective, Satoshi Ishida. She was accepted without any problems into Sakakino Gakuen's community. From what I know, she, Sekai and Hikari are close friends, although I cannot say for sure...

And why does she look like Mion from "Higurashi"? Sweet Alastor, wicked!

I give Setsuna a "goodbye" smile and then walk away with Reina. Sekai is waiting for us.

"Sekai-chan, would you mind if I borrow him for a moment?" Ishida asks. Apparently the thing she's for is important. Saionji just nods in "Yes" fashion.

We're walking on the hospital's square. It's starting to get dark.

"So, how can I help you, Ishida-san?" I ask once again.

"...The incident few days ago." She responds quietly, looking at me. She's apparently searching for some emotions on my face. I, however, get used to questions about my fight with Koizumi.

"Yeah, what about it?" I ask politely, although I don't like the way this chatter is heading to.

"I want to ask you... What are you going to do about it?"

"I'm not sure I understand."

"You killed another human few days ago, without any sign of hesitation." I stop.

"I do it in self-defense, in order to protect Katsura-san, as well as myself." I respond very quietly, giving her a sour look.

"Yes, but..."

"If I wouldn't do it, the number of victims would be much more than "just" three. Besides, what would YOU do in my place, huh?" She takes this argument very heavily. She hesitates for a moment than resumes talking.

"Please listen to me..." She starts with not-so-determined-now voice. "My dad works in police, I'm sure that we can easily..."

"Easily what?" I interrupt her. "Now you should listen, Ishida-san. I didn't do anything at all that is considered evil or against the law. I did the only thing I could do, for God's sake! Yeah, I killed her and I did so with a huge grin on my face, but I did because I had to." She doesn't respond and only looks into my eyes. She's very attractive(I would say, exotic), but fortunately I've got a girlfriend already, so...

Wait... Did I really say that I killed Koizumi with a grin on my face?

"I couldn't resist." I can hear Stratoavis apologizing.

"So, when can I expect your father to show up and arrest me?" I ask with a slight sarcasm in my voice. She only growls quietly. "Oh, and one more thing: What would YOU do in my place?" I ask her once again. "You have no idea what horror I've been through." Suddenly, she bursts out laughing. What's so funny in describing terryfing experiences?

She gives me a look and I'm surprised by tons of anger and misery hidden in her eyes.

"No, that's you who has no idea what I've been through." She says fiercely, although with composed tone. Negative emotions from her eyes vanish suddenly. "Oh, forgive me. I wasn't mean to offend you in some way..." She starts apologizing.

"There's no need to apologize, Ishida-san." I say with slight smile while giving her a hand to end our arguments. "Humans sometimes tend to... break."

"Yeah... They are." She squezzed my hand, a little too strong I would say, but finally she smiles as well.

I don't want to make new enemies. I want to forget about this incident... About the fact that I killed someone.

Without hesitation.


	12. Chapter 12: Ultimum Omnium

I've got invited to this... party that Kumi's holding.

Of course I'm very sceptical. I wasn't invited on such parties in the past, but I do know how it looks like. Alcohol, drugs, more alcohol, chaos and sexual activities. I would gladly reject this invitation, but some certain things convinced me not to do so.

Firstly, Sekai wants to go so badly, it hurts. Because I want to be a good boyfriend, I cannot let her go alone... Given that Sawanaga will be there...

Secondly, I do believe that even if everyone would get drunk and extremely merry, there's gonna be still some people whom I do believe not to drink too much, with Setsuna and Reina being the best examples. Possibly Katsura-san won't drink as well and maybe Itou as well. The rest, however...

Last, but not least, I'm curious. Like I said before, I've never been on such event. Is this really look like they're portraying it? Or maybe it's something completely different...?

Currently, I'm without shirt, looking at the scar. It heals pretty well, although blue sutures hurt my eyes. Why the doctors always use these blue things? Not only they're awful, but also they've got a tendency to set loose sometimes.

I give look on my scars from my left hand. One on the palm, one on the wrist and one near elbow. I can remember why do I have them. It was because of my and the others's recklessness.

* * *

I was thirteen, on dance camp in Poland when this awful accident happened. I was reading a comic book. It was pretty fun, if I do remember right, it was about Donald Duck's adventures. We've got a break at this moment, so I could relax myself in a hallway.

Ah, I do remember that I used to be pretty bad-tempered and react with violence when disturbed enough. On this camp, there were few boys, few years younger than me, who constantly tested my patience with pranks that I considered very unpleasant for me. I tried to persuade them to not do so, with no effect, so it started to bug me... Really bug me.

What the...? Since when my jeans are wet? I can see one of these imps with a something that can be considered a spray... Suddenly, something in my head snaps violently. That's it, I've tolerated these buggers too long! I rapidly stand up and pursue them with anger in my eyes. They can see it and they're laughing. They're laughing at me and it makes me even angrier. This time I'll get them before they close themselves in a room and pummel them to no end! They've already in their room, but I've got enough time to spare. They're closing the door. No problem, I'll just grab the door handle and...

CRACK!

I stopped.

Did I really... Did I really just break the glass in the door with my hand?

Is it bleeding? I've just hurt myself, haven't I?

I'm starting to panic. I slowly remove the hand from hole after shattered glass, just to see that my hand. It's bleeding. It has three pieces of coloured glass: One in the palm. One in the wrist. One near elbow. The wounds are bleeding, single drops of blood slowly drop on the floor.

I don't feel any pain. I'm rather scared and surprised at the same time... I'm bleeding? Slowly, a smile comes at my face. That's funny. I've almost been caught by this one... I'm bleeding.

Bl...Bleeding?

My face went pale.

"I'm... I'm bleeding." I said weakly... Then everything went black.

* * *

I "woke up" in the hospital, but not in the bed or something, but rather in the anteroom. Looks like I didn't even fall unconscious to begin with. Someone's with me, it's one of the camp tutors. She looks like she's been dissapointed for some reason.

"Why so agressive?" She asked me.

"Excuse me?"

"Why did you choose to act so violent?" She asked me once again.

"There was nothing more I could do..." I respond, trying to defend myself. "I try to persuade them, but..."

"And that's how would you behave in the future?" She asked me, putting me in deep shock. What sick insinuation is that?

"N-no..." She shows me a poster where a child and a woman are after some beating. I can see someone's hand in the background. Apparently it's the thing they call "violence in family".

"Will you react violence on your children, on your wife?" She kept asking. What the hell is she talking about? These are two different things!

...I, however, do not respond. I was only a thirteen years old at this moment, I haven't got even a slightest clue what she's talking about.

It was a day when my falling into pits of loneliness started.

Several days later, I was watching exercises of my dance group. Since the bandage that was restraining my ability to move my left hand, I was watching them near the exit. Everything was going smoothly, yet another day of sitting unproductively... And then, it happened.

I accidentally switched off lights in the room. Everyone was now looking at me.

"Oh, my apologies." I said, turning the lights on. Suddenly, the instructor started to scolding me.

"What is the meaning of this? On my lessons, not only you're doing nothing, but also disturbing others. You're useless." What the... Again? What's the meaning of this senseless anger? How can I dance with this bandage? I cannot move my hand properly and yet you're expecting me to do hip-hop?

But again... I do not respond. I cannot understand it. What's the meaning of this? Why are they looking at me like I was some sort of enemy? Why am I...

...alone?

* * *

"Honey!" My Mum's voice wakes me up from this nightmare. Finally, I found the thing that is necessary to break through the darkness.

My new friends... Sekai... They're forming an ultimate alliance which keeps me intact.

Everything is going to be okay now.

I'm going downstairs, but to my suprise I found... Setsuna in the corridor. Apparently she's waiting at me, with this determined expression of hers. What is she doing here, I wonder? More interesting... What is she wearing? It's some kind of one-piece black dress without sleeves, with transparent shirt-like thing under the dress. She's also wearing dark, again transparent tights and black boots with zippers. Of course, she has her trademark red ribbon in her hair.

"Oh, it's a surprise to see you here." I say, greeting her with handshake. She smiles slightly.

"I thought that I will visit you since you're likely to visit Sekai as well."

"And why's that?"

"Oh, I don't know... Maybe it's because she's your..."

"I get it." I murmur, closely watching my Mum passing by. "Gimme a few seconds to change garment." She only nods slightly. I bet she's smirking right now.

After a short while, I'm ready to go. I'm wearing my standard, I would say, attire: Black shirt with few skulls on it, black jeans with studded legs, black sneakers, black fingerless leather gloves(Studded, of course), and, to top it all, black leather trench coat, necesarilly unbuttoned, so it can epically flutter on the wind and black hat with wide, musketeer-like brim.

I like this attire. It makes me look badass. Setsuna, however, wasn't that much impressed.

"Are you sure you want to go in this?" She asks cautiously.

"Yeah. You don't like it?"

"It's very unusual, I would say."

"I see, but - sadly - epicness must ensue. Therefore..." I try to snap my fingers, but with no effect. I never was able to learn it. "Curses..." I whisper angrily. Kiyoura only giggles quietly.

Thankfully, her concern about the unusualness of my clothing was a little bit exaggerated. Sure, some people were giving us curious looks, but no bad things happened in general.

We're arriving at Sekai's house. She lives in an apartment along with her mother. I haven't been here, but it looks pretty okay. I allow Setsuna to knock slightly. The door is opened by Miss Saionji.

No, seriously, why is she looking like she was only a few years older then her own daughter? Is this even possible?

"Oh, it's you." She says cheerfully. Like mother, like daughter. Indeed.

"Good afternoon, Saionji-sama." I say politely, tipping the hat. "I hope we don't disturb neither you nor Sekai."

"Of course not, come in." She responds, inviting us. "Sekai is in her room, she's changing clothes. Would you like to eat something?" I would say Miss Saionji is incredibly hospitable. She manage to treat us with her self-made chocolate that was actually delicious. I wonder, though, what's with her husband? Is she a widow? Divorced? Maybe she always was growing up Sekai on her own? I'll probably never guess.

Finally, after a pretty long period of time, Saionji appears.

As always, she has this cheerful smile of hers. She's wearing orange shirt with slightly frilled sleeves, tight jeans and white sneakers, she also has a dark yellow handbag on her right arm. The first thing she's doing is to burst out laughing, probably because of my "badass" attire.

"Told you." Setsuna says triumphantly. I only murmur quietly, giving her a sour look. Keep yourself telling that, but I know that this clothes make me badass, right on the spot.

"Plus ability to kill fast and clean..." Stratoavis adds, causing me to twitch. Nevermind then.

* * *

Kumi's house was near Katsura-san's: We only needed to go to Harahirama and then to the local video game store. Setsuna said that Kasanoin and Sawanaga are top-notch customers, of course, buying various eroges. I wonder why Nanami allows his boyfriend to play stuff like that... Than again, not every single eroge is concerned about sexual activities. However, according to Kiyoura, Kyouichi's favourite visual novel is "Kira Kira", so there's still hope for him.

We need to go about one kilometre from mentioned video game store, on the right. Her house was standing near the interesting statue of a samurai. It was a pretty big building, big enough to keep us all inside without any problems. I look at my cellphone. It's only five o'clock, the party will start in an hour.

Setsuna is the one to knock the door. They're opened by Kumi herself. She's in some kind of blue party dress, a little too official, I would say. The other thing is the decolletage, pretty revealing.

"Oh, hi!" She greets us warmly, inviting us inside. Looks like we're the only visitors so far. "You can put your coats on this hanger here." She adds, pointing at the object standing in the corridor's corner. For now, it's empty, save for something that appears to be Kumi's jacket. I wonder why we're here so early.

"Would you like to eat something? I've got some apple pie." Our host says from the depths of the kitchen.

"No, no, thanks..." I respond, putting my "badass" leather jacket on the hanger. Something tells me that this... party will be sorta weird. I can feel Setsuna's glare on my back. Is she up for something again? No, she isn't here. Looks like girls are in the kitchen, so I have an opportunity to give a look around the main room.

It's large, very large, even huge, I would say. Considering that the number of visitors is about forty, we should be able to fit here. I can see the fireplace and something on the top of it. It's a bottle... Empty. What's an empty bottle doing in such place? I could understand if it was opened, so it could be some water in it in order to keep the room not too dry... But this?

"Don't touch it!" I can suddenly hear Kumi shouting and running towards me. She suddenly stumbles and is about to fall, but I manage to catch her just in time.

"Whoa, you're okay?" I ask, looking at her embarassed face. She's blushing red, of course, but swiftly sets herself free from my grasp.

"It's nothing." She responds, composing herself. "But, please, do not touch something that you don't know what is it."

"Okay, I get it... But it's a bottle. Ordinary glass bottle. There's nothing in it."

"Actually, there is something... Something that should be closed by any means."

"Allright, now you're scaring the hell outta me." I say, giving a look at the bottle.

"My dad is a scientist." Kumi explains. "He managed to find a cure for the disease known as a... Hinamizawa Syndrome." Wait... What did she said? WHAT IN THE WORLD DID SHE SAID?

"You're not serious." I say with shock.

"I know, it was portrayed in this Higurashi manga, I know." She says quietly. "But truly, such illness exists."

"For Yagami Light's potato chip's love, what in the world this thing is doing here?" I almost scream, while going chalk white. Good lord, this thing is responsible for all the...

"Like I said, my dad had managed to find the cure for this and completely eliminate it." Kumi interrupts my chaotic thinking. "This isthe only specimen in the world that he keeps as a trophy."

"But still..."

"Don't worry." Kumi smiles. "We've got a cure in the house, so in case if someone gets infected, we can easily get rid of it." However, I'm still scared as hell. Hinamizawa Syndrome just turned to be real... And she's keeping it on the fireplace like it was... something else. I slowly approach the kitchen with Kumi. Good lord, she's pretty composed for someone that can die anytime.

"Casper-kun!" I can hear Sekai, but I cannot be 100% sure, with all this confusion in my mind. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Y-y-yes... Nothing happened." I answer weakly, slowly sitting on the free chair. Both Saionji and Kiyoura are now watching me cautiously. I can feel their worried glares on my humble person. No... I shouldn't bother them with such things... After all, if Kumi says that it's safe, then why should I not believe her? "I... I saw a hornet." I lie after a short while, wondering about the answer. Actually, I panic when I see this flying truck. No, seriously, it's huge, at least for insect's standards. It has three freakin centimeters!

"I see..." Setsuna says after a while. Both of them seems to buy it, maybe because I really hate these things. No, seriously, it has THREE CENTIMETERS, for Alastor's sake!

* * *

Kumi's house becomes tighter and tighter with every minute.

I'm sipping strawberry tea in the corner, watching the others. I'm not exactly the party man, so I'm now waiting for this announced by our host "Soul Calibur III Tournament". The main room is already crowded. I can see Ashikaga talking with some girl that apparently he is up to(From what I've heard, "Saionji and C.O" had already reported their desire to help. Of course.), few steps next to them Katsura-san and Itou laughing together. On the couch, Setsuna is kicking Kasanoin's butt in "Soul Calibur". She plays as Setsuka, this may be difficult... Suddenly, someone hits me in the back... Although, "someone" is probably an euphemism.

"Hey, why are you sitting here all alone?" Of course, it's Sekai. She can be annoying at times.

"Oh, just enjoying the peace and silence..." I answer sarcastically. Apparently she doesn't get it.

"Come on, it's dancing time."

"Dancing?" I ask slowly. "Sorry, but it's not my cup of tea."

"Oh come on..." She tries to pull me with her, but I resist.

"Sorry, but I don't have any positive experiences from dancing." I say quietly, looking at my left hand. She seems to notice it.

"You mean this bruises are because of that you had an accident while dancing or something?"

"We can name it that way..." I answer after a short while. "Besides, I can't dance."

"Oh please... I'll be gentle." She says, closing to me. Why I think it sounded very... seductive?

"Ookay..." I respond finally. "At what time does it starts?" I ask.

"About fiveteen minutes. Oh, and thank you." She says while kissing me gently in the cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome." I say slightly confused by her actions. She only smiles and dissappears in the crowd.

Okay, she's annoying... But can be lovable.

There's one thing that makes me wonder here, apart from, of course, this evil sealed in a bottle: Why exactly is Katsura-san's little sister, Kokoro, is here? I mean, she looks like she's seven... And I'm pretty much sure that some bad things related with sexual activities will happen here... Good lord, what if she got involved? Katsura-san would kill the culprits dead if something happened with her sister(Assuming that she won't go into permanent catatony)... Now she's chatting with Setsuna. Amusingly, she's only slightly shorter than our class rep. Kiyoura catches my amused glare and growls silently, quickly erasing the smile from my face. Now I'm pretty much doomed, especially when considering that we're going to be rivals in the tournament... Good lord, Setsuka is a beast, with all of her lightining-speed moves and reasonable damage. On the other hand, mastering her requires really many hours... Maybe she's not that good. I finish my tea and slowly rise from the chair, cracking the fingers. It's time for duel. I manage to get through the crowd and grab the pad. My opponent is, interestingly, Kumi herself.

"Didn't expect to see you here." I say, slightly surprised. She gives me a smirk, one of these "I'm good" kind.

"So, you're here for some practice?" She asks me with slight mockery in her voice.

"Just to make sure that I'll off you with enough style." I answer, sharing her mocking tone. She seems amused.

"Oh yeah, pretty boy? Then come on." She chooses Sophitia. Ack, tough luck, she's pretty good with her horizontal Unlockable... But she doesn't have nothing of the range and strength that Siegfried, my main player, posseses. Her only way to close quickly is to make a straight step that can be interrupted by my favourite and lovably-abusable Sky Splitter, launching the enemy into the air where he or she is open for next attacks... But I digress. Forgive me my technobabbling.

* * *

Kumi put a good, challenging fight, but in conclusion the gods of war favoured me with result 5-4. To be honest, I'm terribly exhausted. After emptying two glasses of strawberry juice, I feel that I'll be able to handle the opponents with relative ease... But before that...

"EVERYBODY, we're playing "Truth or Dare"!" Kumi exclaims loudly. Oh no no no, you'll not convince me to participate in... Then Sekai somehow manages to literally take me off the chair. Since I cannot escape now, I'm looking at the participants: Myself and Sekai, Kumi, Itou and Katsura-san, Sawanaga and Hikari, Kyouichi and Nanami plus Ashikaga, in order to balance the proportions. Luckily, Kiyoura was kind enough to keep Kokoro from this mess. Suddenly, our closed circle is growed by two new players: Omazaki and, weird enough, Ishida-san. I didn't know she likes this kind of game.

"Okay, everyone knows the rules?" Kumi asks us with a chilling grin on her face. No one states any objections, although I can see from Katsura-san's face that she's blushing slightly... Wait... She has some kind of a watery glare... I bet she isn't sober... Or maybe she's simply embarassed. I hope the second. "Allright then, I shall roll first." She spins the bottle. Its head slowly stops, facing Sawanaga. "Truth or dare?" Kumi asks Taisuke.

"Dare." Hoo boy, looks like he's extremely confident...

"Okay, pretty boy..." Kumi starts pondering, thinking about the task appropiate for Sawanaga. Suddenly, the idea came to her mind. "Allright then. Sawanaga, confess to Kuroda-san here and now!" The crowd murmurs in amazement. Both Taisuke and Hikari seem shocked by this kind of task, the latter also rapidly blushes. Everyone but Sawanaga knows that she's got a crush on him... Yeah, it's somewhat dirty trick, but maybe it will help these two get together well?

You're an interesting creature, Kumi Mori.

Sawanaga takes a while to compose himself. He looks as he's about to make his last will, that serious. He even stands up to add to the seriousness. Looks like he's treating this play seriously... Maybe it's about Hikari? Maybe he finally realised that Katsura-san has already a boyfriend...? Wait... What is he holding in his hand? It looks like... No...

He takes a few steps towards Hikari who blushes more and more... Sawanaga starts speaking:

"Well... Um... So, I... Where to start..." Okay, maybe I'm a little bit paranoid. "Well... I want to say, Kuroda-san, that... So... I always want to say that... Um, I know I used to look after... Um, Katsura-san... But I've never... never realised... Well, about your presence... And because of that... I'm, well, I'm regretting this... My actions... And... You know... I really like you..." Suddenly, Sawanaga drops on his knee and in some extremely flashy way presents us to the little blue box. This kind of box is used... To pack... wedding rings. Hikari gasps in shock, along with most of the audience... Only Kumi is smiling.

Could she possibly arrange this event? If yes, why? Well, kinda stupid question. She's just helping to get these two along... Sekai's gonna be jealous, someone was faster than she.

"I... I love you, Kuroda Hikari." Sawanaga finally spits it from his throat. And so, his reputation of a pervert has been buried under several meters of soil. The girl with weird hair slowly stands up with deep surprise in her eyes. She certainly have no clue what to do. Taisuke keep kneeling here, but I can tell that he's sorta determined. The crowd watches this event with curiosity on their faces, unsure what will happen now. Hikari finally looks down at Sawanaga and I can tell that she's rather confused. I can see tears in her eyes, although they're tears of joy, I guess. She drops on her knees and takes Sawanaga's face into her hands.

"_SAWANAGA NO BAKA!" _She shouts fiercely and then... kisses Taisuke passionately, directly in the lips. Everyone in the crowd has gone silent, everyone is probably rather shocked. Two new lovebirds hug each other while Setsuna starts clapping, possibly congratulating them their new, happy relationship. The others join her enthusiastically and after a short while the whole room is filled with congrats to "Just Married". Whoever nickname them like that, is either a moron or a person with some hard to understand sense of humor.

Still, however, it would appear that Kumi arranged the whole event. Interesting... She's really worth noting... However, considering the chaos, we'll likely to not continue our game... Maybe that's better.

* * *

Eh... I was right all along.

One day, I found funny comment on DeviantArt about some yuri-oriented art. It was written: After a drink, we usually all turn into lesbians. I would slightly correct it, to sound like this: After a drink, we usually all turn into bisexualists.

Thank goodness Kokoro isn't here. What kind of place is this for her, for Alastor's sake? Thankfully, Reina(being totally sober) offered herself to took her back to Katsura's estate. I wonder though what about Kotonoha herself... I cannot see her anywhere. I can see, however, a large pile of men and women that will turn in some goddamned orgy in no time, although some people aren't participating in this event, Itou for example. It appears he looks for Katsura-san as well and I can tell from his face that he's worried, being unable to find his own girlfriend. It's kinda amusing. Sekai's also absent... She's not with Setsuna who is sipping tea in silence. Strange... I stand up from my chair, avoid some of the most luscious visitors(Apparently mistaking me for a sexy girl with C-cup) and close to Kiyoura.

"Kiyoura-san, have you seen Sekai somewhere?" I ask her. She takes a sip and doesn't answer immidiately, instead she takes a look at Omazaki kissing Sensui. Good lord, if Kazuya was sober, Omazaki would be dead in no time.

"Oh, she went to the restroom." Setsuna answers calmly, gracefully avoiding something that was a someone's bra. Judging by size, it could be Nanami's. Sweet Alastor, what am I doing here?

" I think I take her with me... Just look at this chaos." I say, concerned a bit about my girlfriend. She only nods, apparently she's understanding. "Where is this restroom, if I may ask?"

"Room on the left from the kitchen." She says, pointing at certain door. I go there and knock lightly. There's no answer... Suddenly, I can hear something from the room next door. It's something like... some familiar voice. Curiosity wins and I take a peek into the room, wondering what can it be. I'm pretty sure I've heard both Katsura-san and Kumi, who was absent too... Oh... Oh wow...

Kumi is lying on the Katsura-san with gentle and slightly triumphant smile and keeps kissing her in various parts of body, mainly exposed stomach and occasionally her partially exposed chest. Katsura-san was without her shirt and with almost removed bra, emiting moans of pleasure. I can feel that I'm turning red. Okay, I knew that Kumi is a lesbian and could have at least slight suspection that she's lusting for Katsura-san, but... Doesn't she know that Kotonoha already has a boyfriend? However, looking at fact that Katsura is more than drunk, she probably won't remember this event...

"Kumi-san... _Aishiteru._"

Suddenly, Itou comes from behind the corner... And apparently he has heard it.

"She's, well, drunk..." I start, trying to comfort him somehow, but he's totally wrecked by this(even if unintentional) betrayal. He looks at me with blank eyes. Don't tell me he snapped? Good Alastor, these Japanese sure have fragile psyche.

Thankfully, this time I'm wrong.

"You think so?" He says with bitter tone. Oh, come on. Your girlfriend is drunk, she cannot be serious... Right?

Makoto turns on his heel and leaves the corridor. Something tells me that some bad things will happen in the future... Probably because of actions of Kumi Mori.

Good lord, what kind of crapload world is this?

* * *

Me, Sekai and Reina are heading back home(Setsuna offered herself to clean this mess when everybody will blackout). Interestingly, Saionji is perfectly sober. Why didn't she drink anything? I can understand Ishida-san... But Sekai? It must be something big.

"Okay, I'm going that way." Ishida-san says, pointing at some darkened alley.

"Are you sure you don't want us to escort you?" I ask with concern. "It doesn't look safe."

"No, no... I don't want to eat your precious time..." She starts saying, while slowly moving back.

"But it isn't a problem at all." Sekai adds with smile.

"Sure, you may know some karate or whatever, but in case there are more than few opponents, it's good to have some backup." I say, allowing myself to smile as well.

"And what about your safety?" Reina asks, although she's slightly less confident about this.

"You're our friend. It wouldn't be nice if we left you in a pinch on your own." Saionji explains. Ishida-san blushes slightly, but then smiles gently.

"Thank you." She finally says. The rest of our journey is pretty peaceful. Well, wandering in even small group is significantly safer than on your own, especially during a night. Besides, I can finally acknowledge where does Ishida-san lives.

And now, we're heading to Sekai's place. It's damn late, parents will kill me.

"Casper-kun, could you... come in for a while?" Saionji asks when we're at this certain place.

"I'm terribly sorry, Sekai, but I'm already late." I respond, while scratching the back of my head in embarassment. She looks sad.

"Only for a little while?" She begs.

"And what about your Mum?"

"She doesn't mind." Saionji says with a slight smile. Although I've seen this smile so many times, it regained its inner beauty.

"Okay then..." I say, entering her house. I look at the cellphone. 11.30 P.M. Good lord, I'm dead.

We're heading to her room. She's strangely silent and doesn't say a thing... She sits on the bed. Apparently she's pondering about something.

"Hey, take a seat here." She finally says, pointing the space next to her. What's this fuss all about?

"Okay, apparently you've got something to tell me." I say cautiously, observing her. She blushes slightly. This isn't a good sign, I'm sure.

"Well, there is a thing I want to ask you..." She starts with some hesitation. Her hand nervously moves on the bed and slides towards my leg. "You know... We are a couple for some time, aren't we?"

"Yes..."

"And I was wondering... I was wondering... What..."

"Yeah...?"

"What do you think about me?" She finally spits this out. I smile slightly.

"What can I think about you? I love you." I answer lightly. "You're the only one, Sekai. I don't think I'd be able to live without you." She smiles slightly as well, but apparently this isn't the answer she was looking.

"Thank you... But it's about slightly... other type of liking." She blushes even more. I'm afraid this goes into some forbidden territory.

"Go on..." I say cautiously, trying to move slightly away from her.

"What do you think about me as a... as a girl?" Oh, yeah. Pretty much expected.

"Well... You're pretty... Even beautiful..." I must try to avoid touchy topics, just in case. "But what can I say more?" Suddenly, she starts slowly pulling off her orange shirt, exposing her slick figure and rounded, moderate breasts. "Wha... What are you doing?" I ask, surprised and sorta scared. It's unusual to see that your girlfriend undresses herself for no particular reason.

"What do you think about me?" She asks monotonously, closing to me. "Do you love me?" She adds, grabbing me in half and hugging tightly.

"Of course I do... But..." Apparently, this "but" is a trigger that pulls her even further in her actions. She kisses me forcefully and passionately, pushing me into a wall. I kiss her back, dazed by sweet taste of her lips and her warmth. She literally throws herself into me, giving me all the passion and love that I probably do not deserve. Accidentally, one of my hands touches her slender and well-formed stomach. It's so smooth and almost majestic... I feel that something's not right with me, but I cannot neither fight with it nor counter it somehow. Sekai is like a beautiful rose and I, random bee flying nearby, have a chance to taste splendid nectar of this rose.

I'm in trance, pushing her lightly on a bed. Her presence makes me feel strange, but she's happy. She's smiling, I can even see a tear of joy in her eye. I allow myself to make a few traces with my fingertips on her beautiful, smooth skin. It's cold, but so supreme and perfect in touch, it doesn't matter for me. I love her. She's like an angel, some divine being, the creature beyond the others. I can hear that she's pleased with my actions and I'm stunned by the incredibleness of her voice. She's described by superlatives only... I allow myself to go further and take one of her breasts in my hand, with gentle touch. She moans in pleasure, as I explore it slowly. It's even smoother and more delicate than her stomach... It makes me want more. I want her. I want the World to be mine and mine alone... I want to love her.

We're getting up to the sit. She pulls my shirt off me while I deliver kisses to her neck. I can her whispers that are filled with lust. She wants me as much as I want her.

"More... More..." She keeps repeating and I fulfill her wish, lowering my kisses to her partially hidden breasts. It works, she's purring with pleasure in her tone while sliding her fingertips on my chest. She touches my scar...

And then sudden sobering comes from nowhere.

What... What am I doing?

Did I not remember why I have this souvenir from - may she rest in peace - Koizumi?

I throw herself under the chainsaw in order to protect them... To prevent the events from other dimensions to happen.

I cannot do them by myself... No. I love her, but I cannot... I cannot.

I look at her and I realize that I've allow my own hormones to take control over me. If not the scar, it could end even with... unpleasant actions... She seems confused by the fact that I suddenly stopped kissing her.

"I..." I try to say something, but I feel almost like a murderer... A little like I was a responsible forher downfall. "Good lord, what have I done?" I ask myself, looking at my hands. They're moving erratically, without any sense of order. I'm going nuts once again, but this time...

It's all my fault.

"What's... What's wrong?" Sekai asks after a while, rising herself. I hug her tightly to hide the tears in my eyes. She seems surprised by this behaviour... Actually, I would be surprised too if someone hugged me for no reason.

"Sekai... Forgive me." I whisper, swallowing the salty tears. "Forgive me for everything that I've done to you." I whisper with desperation. I can feel that she's hugging me back.

"It's okay." She says with sadness in her voice. "It's me that should apology... I was pointlessly testing your faithfulness, I... I didn't control myself."

"And so do I... Good lord, forgive me. Please, Saionji-san, forgive me."

We're sitting in a hug on her bed, half-naked.

We truly love each other, even if we're careless in this love. This test made us feel that we're closer than before. We're sitting in a complete silence for about five minutes, then my cellphone rings, breaking this precious atmosphere.

"Excuse me." I say with still trembling voice, picking up the phone. "Hello, Wala Casper speaking. Oh, hi... Well, I'm afraid that the last train escaped about five minutes ago... Don't worry, I think I know where can I stay for a night." I say, while smiling to Sekai. She seems surprised, but after a while smiles as well. "Okay, I get it. Thanks, good night." I hang up and giggle slightly, while putting my shirt on. Saionji does the same with hers and smiles cheerfully. Just like herself.

Looks like everything went back to normal. I hug her gently and she hugs back, while giggling.

* * *

"Hey, Sekai."

"Yeah."

"_Aishiteru._"

_"Watashi mo, _Casper-kun."


	13. Magical Heart vs Blackened Soul: Part 1

**I thought that after a longer break I can come up with something extra. Here you go, then: OVA-based story no. 1, various points of view. Since it's a spin-off, expect some dead characters to come back. Enjoy.**

**Makoto's POV**

My name's Itou Makoto. I'm a freshman in Sakakino Gakuen, school rather odrinary... Although I still have a weird feeling that this institution is not normal at all.

I've always wondered why people don't have a second chance. After our demise, we're done for sure. No coming back, just an empty abyss of nothingness. I've also always wondered how would I act if I'd have this second chance. More recklessly than now? Or maybe I'd get wiser and smarter, knowing that I have only two lives...? Oh, lovely paradox.

Now, however, everything is normal. I'm sitting in the train, slowly riding to school and listening to The Gazette. They are pretty good, you know? Singin' about everything, love and stuff... Ah, love. I've used my chance and caught the jackpot.

I've got a girlfriend. Her name's Katsura Kotonoha. She's from 1-3 and caught my, let's say, attention, some time ago... I'm not gonna hide it, she's gorgeous. Her body, her personality, her traits, her spirit... Everything is so good and perfect that it almost borders on some kind of absurdity. However, I was too shy or maybe too afraid to even talk to her, so I've only took a photo of her. I was content of just seeing her... Until Saionji didn't kicked in.

Saionji Sekai is my long-time friend. Her attitude is somewhat annoying when being with her for a longer time. She's hyper, cheerful and cannot resist sticking her nose into the door. That's how she found out about the photo. She then decided almost instantly that she'll help me to get along with Kotonoha. When I've heard it for the first time, I thought I'm gonna laugh in her face... But I agreed.

To be honest, now I'm grateful for her to her, now I've got a wonderful soulmate alongside me... Wait, what's that?

I give a look through the window. I can clearly see something that looks like... UFO? Certainly, several UFO's float in the air, closing to the city centre. Is this really happening? Is this true...? Suddenly, one of the UFO's explode in a flashy explosion. The others share fate of its companion, one after another. What's happening...? Then, some tiny silhouette can be seen on of the skyscraper's rooftops. It looks like a little girl dressed in something that could be worn by "sentai" character. I cannot see her face, but judging from her height and posture, she cannot be older then 15 years old. She quickly dissappears, not allowing me to take a further look.

In other worlds, everything just became complicated.

When I've thought that it was all but some weird dream, Sawanaga actually affirmed me that no, it wasn't a creation of my imagaination. In fact, he looked as happy as if he finally found a girlfriend. I do know that he's enthusiastic about his amateur photographs that sometimes land on the first page of our local newspaper, but seriously, today he was incredibly loony.

"Makoto, just look at it!" He said yet once again, pointing at the headline called "Magical Heart saves us yet once again!". "This is my photo, man! I took a picture of Sakakino's City hero!

"Oh, gimme a break. This can't be real." I said in answer, shaking my head. "I mean, little girl dressed like Sailor Moon that fights evil?"

"Dude, this isn't a fake. It's one hundred percent original photography, made by ME!" With this absurdly loud underline of his work, he smiled joyfully. I've noticed that Setsuna took herself away from her book for a moment and now was watching us with something between surprise and dissapointment.

"Sawanaga, you say that this Magical Heart is our hero?" She asked with her creepy monotone voice.

"Yeah, I've said it before..." He looked sorta puzzled.

"There's no thing like good or evil, Sawanaga. Remember it for your own good."

"Wha-what do you mean?"

"The world is gray. There's no heroes nor villains. Everything is based on the point of one's view..." She concluded her mysterious rant, heading back to her book. Surpsingly, it isn't in Japanese or even English, but in Polish. It would appear that she borrowed something from Casper.

Oh, this guy is somewhat of a mystery. He appeared in our class at the start of second semestre, far from Europe. He's from Poland that is located somewhere in the Central Europe. Although quite menacing in the appearance(With his enormous height and "only skin and bones" silhouette, as well as his always black attire that adds to his ominous aura - Hell, he wears his studded gloves even in school!), he's rather okay. Sure, he can be strange somewhat, especially when we're talking about greetings(I've noticed that he really likes to bow), but he proved to be a man of valor and everything. Currently he's Sekai's boyfriend. I would say, that's quite of an achievement, especially considering Saionji's antics and hyperactive behaviour(Casper himself admitted that she can be atrocious at times). They, however, seem to get along very well. They found many similarities between them like fondness for video games or being otakus... But I digress.

"Kiyoura, may I ask what's the book about?" I asked her.

"It's a collection of fantasy stories about someone called witcher. He's genetically modified warrior made for killing monsters and making a living from it." She answered, not even bothering with turning her head. "Chronologically, it's the first."

"Oh... How's it called?"

"Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski. Quite entertaining."

"Just out of curiosity, since when do you know Polish?"

"Wala-san educated me for about one month. He's quite a potent tutor." Suddenly, the door opened and mentioned Pole appeared with a newspaper in his hand. He looked somewhat amused.

"Just look at it." He finally said after taking his place next to Setsuna.

"Don't want to be rude, but we already have one..." Sawanaga started, but was quickly interrupted.

"I'm not talking about that Magical Heart rubbish. By the way, nice photo you took here. What I'm talking about is..." He quickly turned several pages, just to show us viciously mutilated body of some middle-aged man. His left hand and right leg were removed with something apparently pointy and sharp. Sawanaga turned green in a second, I was close to as well, but managed to regain my composture. I know that Casper's rather obssesed with violence, especially when combined with sinister lynch like here. "Blackened Soul striked once again, again at some murderer. This is what I call justice, not these flashy show-offs that Magical Heart performs every day."

"You, you watch your words!" Sawanaga barked, getting angrier. He's a die-hard fan of Magical Heart, if only because she's a girl that wears ridiculously skimpy outfit that resembles some fancy hooker from fancy bordello. I'm not enthusiastic about the fight, however, as Casper is extremely dangerous because of his knowledge of Krav Maga, martial art that is almost lethal when used correctly.

"Whatever, Taisuke. Your point is your point, I'm not gonna interfere into it." Casper shrugged his arms and turned his head into entrance's direction. As we predicted, Saionji appeared just a short while after him. To be honest, I'm surprised that they hadn't appeared together. An argument? Fortunately, not(Gloomy Sekai is even worse than cheerful Sekai), they greeted each other as usual. Saionji took her place next to me and looked at the newspaper.

"Sheesh, Magical Heart yet again?" She sighed.

"Awesome, isn't it, Saionji-san?" Sawanaga replied cheerfully.

"Meh, I don't like her." Sekai pouted quietly and put her head on the desk. "She comes only when everything is set, just to steal the others from their glory that they earned in their hard work."

"Others?" I asked, interested.

"Sakakino's Special Defence Unit." Saionji answered. "They're the ones truly responsible for all of Magical Heart's sucesses. They perform all the hard work in order to get rid of some supervillain or fend off some monster and when they do so, Magical Heart comes to deal a finishing blow! Not fair at all."

"Ah yes, I've heard about them." Casper added slowly. "From what I've heard, the recruitment is closed for some unknown reason. They do pretty good job, however. Too bad they don't have any of the spotlight that Magical Heart has."

"I wonder if they can work together..." Sawanaga started pondering, closing his eyes and looking downright idiotic. I realized that the chatter is out of my topic, so I've only opened my notebook to check for some important informations required for today's exam. Gosh, Biology...

**Katsura's POV**

After school, Saionji-san invited me to come to this restaurant called Radish where she, Kuroda-san and Kanroji-san work. Also, Kokoro attends here as the newest waitress. I'm not particularly okay with it, since these outfits are rather revealing and Kokoro, well... She's only thirteen. She shouldn't wear things like that, but she was so persistent in her desire to at least try to work in Radish for a short while that parents allowed her to do so. Still, I'm feeling rather unconfortable. I know she's gonna be safe under the wings of Saionji-san and the others, but still... Watching her parading in this is sort of inconvenient.

"Oh, don't worry, Katsura-san." Kuroda-san said with slight smile while keep on trying to clean up one of the tables. "The only perverts that come here are Itou and Sawanaga. The first won't do a thing to your sister, the second..." Brown-haired girl smiled maliciously. "Well, we have ways of dispatching him instantly."

"Really? What is it?"

"Precisely timed strike into the biggest treasure that a man can posess."

"What do you mean...?" I asked, rather puzzled. Kuroda-san rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Katsura-san, you're so oblivious when it comes down to boys, aren't you?" I blushed rapidly. She did have a point, but pointing it out aloud? Oh, so embarassing.

"I'm sorry, so sorry... But I really don't have even a slightest clue about this treasure." I explained, feeling even more ashamed than before. Kuroda-san looked at me with worried eyes.

"Say, Katsura-san, did you have a boyfriend before...?" She asked cautiously.

"No... It's, it's complicated..."

"I see. Sorry then, I probably made you feel bad about it." She said with real pity.

"Oh, you don't need to be sorry..." I started, but Kuroda-san summoned a smile on her face yet again.

"No, no, I made a mistake and..."

"Oi, Hikari! We need you!" Saionji-san's voice interrupts our chatter, much to my relief. Kuroda-san waves goodbye and runs away. Umm... It must be something big since all of the waitresses, along with Kokoro, disappeared on the hinterland. In that case, I can only head home. Maybe I'll phone Makoto-kun...? On the other hand, he maybe is busy with something. From what I've heard from Saionji-san, he stayed slightly longer in school in order to learn to exam from Biology or something among these lines.

"Oh, Katsura-san." I've heard the voice of Wala-san, this foreigner that moved to Japan some time ago. "I'm surprised to see you here, on your own."

"Oh, good afternoon." I replied. "About your question, I was just visiting Kokoro. She insisted to work in Radish as a waitress."

"Isn't she only thirteen and looks like seven or eight?" He asked with notable surprise in his voice. "I mean, these suits are rather skimpy."

"I am concerned about it too, but you know her. She's incredibly persistent and if she wants something, she'll get it anyway."

"May I ask if Sekai is inside?"

"Oh no, Saionji-san and the other waitresses, along with Kokoro, disappeared somewhere. I do believe they have some important meeting or something..." Suddenly, Wala-san's face went pale. It threw me off for a short while.

"What's wrong?" I asked, worried. He simply pointed at some point that proved to be a roof of some skyscraper. I've noticed a small, almost impossible to see figure standing there. "Oh no! Is it a suicide?"

"No. It's one of the bad guys. Take a closer look." How did he manage to see anything at all from such distances, I don't know. "It's her. The most wanted villain of Sakakino City, Dr. S."

"THIS Dr. S?" I asked, going pale as well. Doctor S was truly the biggest threat to the citizens of Sakakino. What kind of evil scheme could she invent this time...?

"Exactly. You know what it means? Magical Heart will show up... And considering the power of Dr. S, Blackened Soul will appear as well. Not to mention Sawanaga and his photo obsession..." He tried to joke, but I'm not sure if I've heard him at all. "She's looking at the mall. I suppose she will strike right there."

"So, what can we do?"

"Call SSDU." He responded and started to running.

"Whe-where are you going?" I asked him.

"I need to take my notebook. Observation of a working supervillain is something that I wouldn't want to miss." And with these words, he runned away through the pavement.

**Dr. S's POV**

I took a look at the mall. All these people, walking around aimlessly and pointlessly... Perfect targets of my latest invention. I have a feeling that SSDU softened a bit. I don't want that, they're the only adversaries so far to present any threat at all and thus, they are challenging and fun to engage. Magical Heart doesn't appear always, Blackened Soul prefers casual criminals and police is helpless against me. They cannot even scratch my armor.

Sometimes I wonder why I keep wearing it. Not only it's heavy and makes moving more difficult, but also it serves no particular purpose. It's only to be flashy, attract attention and occassionally protect from some low-powered firearms. Oh, _cliché_.

"Tanaka." I said to my assistant. "Begin spreading The Ero-Gas." He doesn't even say a word, just starts using the pump containing mentioned gas. These chemicals turn every single man, young or not, into a brainless zombie with only one target at mind: Women. They'll act like feral animals, with only this most basic instinct on mind.

This is even more _cliché_. Why couldn't it be some sort of superweapon, able to floor cities of any size? Why couldn't it be a ferocious beast killing everything at its sight? Deadly virus? Incredibly dangerous and humongous mecha? Small chip cutting off all WWW in the destined area?

Guess it can't be helped then. Sometimes I'm rather a terrible villain.

Oh, the gas starts to work. Men spreaded themselves like a swarm of ants, hunting other insects... Or women, to be precise. The only thing that bothers me is the fact that mentioned gas is visible from a mile away.

"Well done operation." I muttered to myself, smiling slightly. "Tanaka, one _croissant_, _s'il vous plaît." _I ordered after a short while of watching the gas taking its bothersome effects. It'll take a while for the SSDU to show up anyway, so I think I can take a short break.

Being a villain is a great responsibility. I need to constantly test heroes in order to be sure that they'll be able to defend their city. It's my duty to make them relentless, powerful and mighty enough. Some would think that this isn't a villain's job. Some would think that a villain needs to actually destroy the hero... But why bother with it? At least I have some fun when they try to cross me once again. Mostly, they succeed, but sometimes I'm the one standing triumphantly. It's a very pleasant feeling...

"Dr. S!" Oh, the cavarly came, at last. I gave a look at them. Surprisingly, it would seem that there's more of them. Usually I've encountered only three members of SSDU, now I can see four of them. The last one is noticeably shorter than the others. Probably she's simply much younger. "We've finally cornered you!" Their leader, a girl with this single strand of hair sticking around pointed her finger at me. How rude.

"I was worried that you won't show up, but ultimately you decided to face me anyway. I'm glad." I responded, bowing slightly. "As you can probably see, the gas is already working. If you don't want to end at the hands of perverted ero-zombies, I suggest you staying out of the trouble."

"You won't scare us that easily!" Their leader(In a blue helmet) shouted in answer. "No.4, our secret weapon!" She commanded to the shortest member of SSDU who started walking around aimlessly in circles. It's amusing, seeing as someone tries to find something that was said to be an ultimate response to my actions. Finally, however, she finds the mentioned ultimate weapon which seems to be... a vacuum cleaner?

Oh, now it's just insulting.

"With this, we'll be able to prevent this poisonous gas from spreading." Their leader excalimed boastfully. Mentioned before No.4 was running around, apparently looking for a socket. Interesting. So they've hailed their mostpowerful weapon only to not use it because of the lack of electricity? Shame on them, I was expecting something... More advanced. "Squad, turn the ultraweapon on!"

"But there's no socket anywhere!" No. 4 exclaimed pitifully.

"Just turn it on!" The two other members of SSDU fulfilled the command. To my surprise, this rather obscure vacuum really works: Ero-gas started backing and heading to the vacuum, slowly stopping affecting the citizens. Tanaka looked at me, worried, but I managed to keep my coolness.

"To be honest, I'm impressed." I said after a short while of observation. "With an ordinary vacuum cleaner, you've managed to eliminate the hazard."

"And you're next!" Their leader screamed, yet again pointing at me. "No.2 and No.3, head to the Sakakino Gakuen in order to keep an eye on local people."

"Acknowledged." The black helmet and the yellow helmet immediately ran away, leaving me with these two.

"Dr. S, come here and fight squarely!"

"I'm afraid I cannot do so, it wouldn't fit into a genre."

"Wha...?"

"A good villain should have numerous henchmen and a few elite warriors that will engage the heroes when he or she will head back to unleash some kind of superweapon of sort. Since my henchmen are rather limited, I must use my second-in-command to engage you."

"We'll kick both yours and your dragon's arses!" Oh, how rude. It's tempting to just mop the floor with them, using some of my deadly lasers, but... No. I need to wait. I need to be a classical villain. Being genre savvy is good, but not in that case. "Bring it on, then!"

"As you wish." I thrusted my hand forward. "Come, the embodiement of despair and darkness in one's heart and mind. The very definition of depression, void and abyss. The one that strikes fear and agony into his opponents, relentlessly and viciously. I summon you, Blackened Soul." Several floors lower, a black pit appeared, hailing a thick black fog that spreaded instantly, covering nearby area in a _noir. _After a short while, my second-in-command appeared, dressed in his absurdly cheesy black leather trench coat, black garment underneath it with visible crosses and pentagrams paired together, black studded fingerless gloves, of course made of black leather, wide-brimmed black hat and a pair of black sunglasses. SSDU members looked virtually shocked by his appearance.

Who would've guess that I have Blackened Soul on my own services?

"Greetings." He greeted them cheerfully, taking one of his dreadful "Dystopia Pistols": Four-barreled firearm designed after Polish Vis. "It would appear that you're trying to cross over Lady S. Sadly, I cannot allow you to do so." He aimed at leader of SSDU.

"Wha-what are you doing? You must fight it!" Blue helmet responded, taking a step back.

"Oh, do you really think that I'm brainwashed or something? Allow me to say that in fact, no, I'm perfectly clean-minded, maybe just slightly obsessed by the incoming fight with you."

"I won't fight you. I know that you're our ally."

"Amusing. It's time, however, to say farewell." He smiled maliciously, in comparision of his affable behaviour.

The fight that will dictate the fate of Sakakino's City will start soon.


	14. Chapter 13: Setsuna's secret

**Forgive me, people, but I have no idea how to continue the OVA. Therefore, I'll be back to our regular story flow. Enjoy this lighter episode... Because soon everything will go awry.**

* * *

"Okay then, it's the last round. We need to get their intelligence before they'll do the same."

"Got it!"

"Yeah, sure."

"Understood."

"They're pretty good, but I do believe we can fond them off. Kiyoura-san, Sekai... We believe in you.

"No worries, Casper-kun!"

"Let's get going then. Kasanoin-san, I hope you're at least decent with that rocket launcher."

"Of course I am! Let's hope you won't get yourself burned with this cooking device."

"...How did you call my vanilla flamethrower?"

"Guys, you should hurry."

"Yeah, right. Let's go."

* * *

Two silhouettes approached from behind the corner. One was bulky and tall, with helmet covering most of his face. He was wearing a red uniform concealing most of his body and was armed with a old-fashioned rocket launcher.

The other was short and clad with a red fire retardant suit, with a gas mask covering his - or maybe her - entire face. He/She/It was armed with a home-made flamethrower and also had a few napalm grenades strapped to his suit. They went inside quickly, willing to fulfill their objective quickly and efficiently.

They didn't know it's going to be their last mission...

* * *

"For the love of everything!" I shout angrily. "How it's even possible?"

"They took Sekai's sentry by surprise." Setsuna responds calmly. I swear, she's incredibly cool non-stop. "Even with my support, taking down two Spies at once is a very difficult task. You know, Jarate doesn't deal damage by itself."

"Oh, I'm so mad!" Sekai adds, even more irritated than myself. "Too bad I'm rather bad at avoiding attacks."

"And both of them had Ambassadors at their disposal." Kyouichi says. "Gah, and don't even start with this Heavy/Medic combo that was guarding the briefcase."

"Surely, it was painful." I respond, grimacing slightly.

"But hey, their leader told us that we're pretty good." Saionji says, smiling all of a sudden. The mood lightens a bit. Of all people, Kiyoura starts giggling.

"We will get them next time, won't we?" She says, smiling. We nod our heads in an agreement. She's surely right.

* * *

Holidays was really fun, I must say.

First of all, me and Sekai visited her relatives in village called Hinamizawa, where hilarity was ensuing nonstop. I didn't remember laughing that much in my life. Now, we're spending the rest of summer holidays in town, having fun with each other. Sawanaga and Kuroda-san are fitting each other almost perfectly. Taisuke stopped being such a pervert that he used to be, if only because for the sake of Hikari. She, however, doesn't mind if he happens to get wild sometime, she's that blinded by love. Not a bad feeling, though.

There's one thing that worries me and these are Sekai's advances towards me. Since that unfortunate incident after party at Kumi's place, we've been trying to avoid unnecessary physical contact. Cuddling with each other, kissing, but nothing more. Now, however, Saionji seems very thirsted of something more intense. Why's she so hormonal, for Alastor's sake? I thought she wised up after that event... But truly, compared to some couples, we're very strict about it... Or maybe we used to be.

Oh, and I finally decided to tell my parents that yes, Sekai is officially my girlfriend and we love each other. To be honest, I expected them to be incredibly surprised, since I used to talk about potential significant others with caution. They simply asked me if I can bring her some time in my place. They were curious... And I was damn sure that my Big Sis won't give me the time for rest, finding some of the more embarassing moments of my life and presenting them to Sekai. To my surprise... There was nothing of it. They all looked dead serious.

I thought it's natural that people tend to search for their significant others... Right? Maybe it was because of my earlier attitude? Yeah, like "Love is bad. Kill love." thing. I think that Saionji presented herself rather okay in my parents's eyes.

Gah, why summer holidays have to end?

We've got only two days left. Katsura-san is said to come back from her kendo camp tomorrow, so we decided to hold some big party to celebrate the end of holidays. Itou is all enthusiastic about it. To be honest, I've never seen him that much animated. This gonna be something like the party at Kumi's house, only slightly... Um, cleaner? You catch my drift, don't you?

Sekai and Hikari are going to actually cook something. To be honest, I'm slightly worried. Not that I'm not confident about their cooking skills, but... What if they went too far? On the other hand, custard cake is a very tempting thing. Despite doing a party, Saionji suggested that we should go somewhere, together. Sawanaga, obviously, requested Radish, but he was outvoted by girls(I was neutral), so in the end we're going to Sakakino's main shopping center. Although I'm skeptical about it, Ashikaga and Kasanoin are going too, so at least I will have someone to talk.

There's also one more thing. Uh, it seems embarrassing, especially considering that I have girlfriend already... Also, there's no logical explanation for it.

To be precise, Kiyoura appears frequently in my dreams.

They're not erotic dreams by any means, but... It's just weird. She usually stands there, with arms crossed on her chest and determined expression. It's like she was trying to tell me something.

Sure, I've promised to her that I'll take care of Sekai, but everything's okay. We're not arguing(Save for our usual banters), we love each other, what else can I do?

Maybe I should ask her? But then again, won't she take it as strange?

Nah, it's useless to think about it right now. Besides, I was asking a few people what can I do in this situation: Himler, Amadeo and Otome(As beings that I can trust the most).

_"It is truly a quite mysterious situation." _Himler said, pondering. _We all do know that you are friends with Frau Kiyoura, but why is the reason she appears here, in this place?"_

**"You're sure there was... nothing between you?" **Amadeo asked, smoking a cigar. Tobacco attacked my nose relentlessly.

"Of course not...!" I said, but then something hit my mind.

The incident in hospital, a few days before the end of semester. Setsuna tested me then with this surprise kiss.

Could it be...?

"To be honest, there WAS something." I finally said and I can already feel the lightnings from Katou's eyes, striking viciously at me.

"You did WHAT with her?" She growled angrily.

"Oh well, looks like we've got another Itou right here." Stratoavis popped out of the darkness with mocking smile on his disgusting face.

Too bad his face is mine as well.

"How could you... How could you do such thing?" Otome was pretty emotional about this and was looking as if she was about to hit me. Hard.

"Allow me to explain, dang it!" I responded quickly. Too late, I was already slapped. Twice. She surely does have a power. I took a step back, flinching.

"You disgusting little..." She whispers, ready for another shot. Hopefully, dramatic click of Himler's Walther P38 stops her immediately.

"_I would suggest calming down a little bit, Frau Katou." _He said, aiming at her with his casual smile on his face.

**"Yeah, we don't want to clean the bits of your brain after Himler will blast 'em, y'know?" **Amadeo added with slightly worried tone. She was still angry, but already started to cool down a bit.

"...Fine. But make it quick." I explained them all this complicated situation that was likely to trigger the dreams. In the end, I was actually wondering who was shocked more: Katou or Amadeo? Both Himler and Stratoavis looked pretty cool with it.

"**You... Are you shittin' me?" **Demon mumbled, expressing his surprise.

"That's unreal... It's not Kiyoura-san like." Otome added, moved as well. Thankfully, her blind rage seemed to vanish completely.

"**Well, she is very dedicated to protect Sekai as we could see some time ago during her rampage on Obuchi... But still, this? Why won't she just ask Sekai about your relationship?"**

"As she's the type that butt in other people's life." Katou responded sourly.

_"Now that you mention it, there is a pretty valid reason why Herr Itou acted like that in that unfortunate dimension." _Himler said, pondering again.

"Yeah, yeah, we all know that she secretly loved him all the time, blah blah blah..." Stratoavis replied, imitating boredom. SS-man ignored his actions with a stone cold face.

_"Herr Itou was grateful to her for pairing him and Frau Katsura. He said that Frau Saionji can take any reward for her job... So, she kissed him."_

"Oh..." To be honest, there was nothing more that I could say at that moment.

I need to talk about it with Setsuna, but I need to do it when we'll be alone. No one can disturb me in this questioning.

For now, however, it's time to forget about all these problems and have some fun at shopping centre. Although it seems out of place for someone like me, there are some certain points that may catch my attention... And hopefully, Setsuna's as well. There's only one thing that bugs me. How exactly do I want to separate Sekai and Kiyoura? It can be troublesome, especially since they share similar tastes and interests.

Suddenly, my phone rings. The others give me curious looks and I'm surprised as well. Who would want me to take a...

"It's Katou-san." I say dully, looking at the phone screen and hesitating with picking it up.

"Huh? But how's that...?" Sawanaga asks, visibly shocked.

"Karen, you moron." Itou growls in response. Hikari and Kasanoin can't help, but laugh at Taisuke's stupidity. I finally decide to pick up the phone.

"Wala Casper speaking. Good afternoon, Katou-san. Oh... Is that so? Well, that's surprising... But I think nobody would actually have anything against it. Sure. Okay, I'll tell them. See you later." I hang up and look on everyone slowly. "Katou-san and Kokoro are coming this way." I finally say, revealing the surprise.

"Oh wow." Someone(I'm not sure who) responds blankly.

"That's awesome!" Sekai finally interrupts the awkward silence. "We can discuss about this party for Katsura-san with her younger sister!"

"Hey, now that you mention it..." Nanami starts pondering. "Okay, so when can we expect them?"

"About one hour." I respond, giving a slight glare on Setsuna. She doesn't seem to notice it, thankfully.

"So it's time for hassled up shopping spree!" Saionji exclaimed enthusiastically. "Setsuna, Hikari, Nanami, Ashikaga-san, let's go!"

"Wha...? Why me?" Yuuki asks, surprised.

"Because you're the most knowledgeable about what the girls like us need." Ashikaga immediately turns red and before he can make an appropiate response, the girls are pushing him towards this clothing shop nearby.

"Farewell, Ashikaga Yuuki." Kasanoin exclaimed dramatically, waving his hands in theatrical manner. "It was nice knowing you." Itou and Sawanaga burst out laughing, while Setsuna only sighs and starts going in the different direction.

"Setsuna...?" Saionji asks, surprised.

"I'll catch you up later. I need to look after one thing." She responds, not even bothering to turn into our direction.

"Would you mind if I assist you?" I ask quietly, ignoring the glares of the others.

"Actually, I think someone like you can significantly help me achieving my goal. Feel free." She responds, although I cannot hear any kind of surprise in her voice. Was she planning it from the beggining? Oh well, fine with me.

Actually, I need to ask her a few questions.

* * *

"So, how can I help you, Kiyoura-san?" I ask when we're far enough from the others. She gives me a look.

"I would like to discuss something with you." She answers quietly, heading to the video game store.

"Oh... To be honest, I've got something on my mind as well." Now she turns towards me, with slightly surprised expression.

"Is... Is that so?"

"Yeah, although the topic is kinda touchy."

"I think mine can qualify as well."

"Let's find some quiet place, shall we?"

"Precisely, it'll be best that way." We decide to head somewhere else. After a short walk, we're outside of the shopping centre. Setsuna leads the way, to the local park. We take a seat. The surroundings are lovely, but given the topic of our incoming chatter, I beg to differ it makes any difference.

We're sitting in silence for a few beats. I think I can start first.

"So, uh... You don't mind if I start first?" I ask her.

"Go on." She responds calmly, although I can feel her glare getting more intense.

"Well, I've recently got a problem. Said problem is related with you." I can see that she's surprised by this.

"Problem... Related with me?" She asks dully. I nod slowly.

"You see, Kiyoura-san, I've been dreaming about you. Constantly." As I expected, she blushes rapidly.

"Wha...? What-What are you talking about?" She stutters, shocked.

"Don't be alarmed, these dreams aren't romantic by any means." I try to make her cool down. She visibly sighs with relief. "But still, you're appearing in my head. You're apparently determined to say something to me, but you cannot spit it out... I wonder if it's somehow related to this testing kiss you gave me some time ago.

"What do you mean?"

"Could I possibly... Could it possibly happen that - but only theoretically - somehow you did something that made me go dreaming about you...?" She's silent. "Because, you know, I do have a girlfriend and I bet she wouldn't be pleased knowing that her best friend is stealing her boyfriend." She only mutters something under her breath, so silently that it's impossible to hear. "Excuse me...?"

"...Share her."

There is a long, long silence before I finally realize what did Setsuna said. "Share her", right? Share Sekai? What does she...?

"I see..." I say finally, giving her a look. She smiles slightly, but her smile is a sad one. "So... You're like Kumi, aren't you?"

"Perhaps." I sigh.

"You love Sekai, do you?"

"...Yes." So, there it is. Sekai's best friend, Kiyoura Setsuna, is in love with her. Considering Kumi's case, it isn't strange at all... But, just like in Kumi's case, Sekai already has someone.

And that someone is me.

And what to do now?

"Well, I'm not gonna hide it, this is kinda problematic..." I say, trying to choose my words very carefully. I pity her, but the situation is without any positive solution.

"That's not a case." She suddenly says, standing up and giving me a look. I can see and feel fire in her eyes. "I...I... Sekai is..." She apparently has problems with finding appropriate words. She struggles with this so hard it's almost painful to watch. It's like I can feel my own throat clutching rapidly.

"Hey, don't push yourself too hard..." I say, trying to cool her down once again. This time, unfortunately, it seems to fail... Even worse, it appears to make her fight with it even harder. I can see tears forming in her eyes... It's so... not like her. Not like Setsuna. She isn't the person that cry for any reason... Well, she didn't cry at all until now.

"You... You don't understand." She finally says and I can see how much she's trembling. She lifts up her watered eyes and stares directly at me. The fire is now much bigger than it used to be. She really means business. "Nobody understands... " She stutters quietly, clinging to me.

"Uh... Kiyoura-san, as much as I would like to help you..." I start, trying to push her away, but without using any unnecessary force. She doesn't give up and still clings on me, sobbing in my t-shirt.

"I... I shouldn't love her. I mustn't love her." She says in breaks between crying. I've never seen her so hysterical and, to be honest, I'm pretty close to start panicking as well.

"Why do you say so? If you feel the feeling for her, that's nothing wrong."

"You don't get it... Sekai is... She's..." Setsuna suddenly stops crying and lowers her head a bit. She's apparently devastated. "...She's my sister."

I was expecting everything... But not that.

"...What? H-How?" I can only say, shocked by this sudden discovery. Kiyoura resumes her sobbing, even more than before. "But... Buy you're not even alike."

"We've got the same father." She responds, gradually calming down. She gives me a look once again and slowly backs a few steps. "We're half-sisters."

"Oh..." I can't say much more, I'm too surprised to actually react properly. "Does... Does she know it?"

"No." Setsuna smiles slightly. "Sekai can be pretty ignorant to her surroundings..." She stops talking again, for a short while. "I... I resisted the temptation. I always want to say how much do I love her, but either she was busy with boys or with anything else... So eventually, I gave up. I was pleased by being her best friend. She was telling me all of her secrets, things that she wouldn't say to anyone else... Maybe even you." That last statement throw me off a bit, but I managed to regain my composure.

"I see..."

"But... Something inside me changed, maybe for worse... Perhaps I was just jealous." She smiles, although her smile is so sad it's almost heart-breaking. "She finally found her happiness. I should be happy right now... But I'm so envious. I want her so badly, so much..." She bits her lip, taking a seat. "...It's sick."

"Huh?"

"Incestuous and one-sided love from tough cookie that was once only a loser." Judging by Himler's papers, she should be crushed on Itou. There was nothing about her homo or bisexuality. Absolutely nothing. "I asked about this before, but... Please, take care of her." Setsuna smiles yet again and yet again her smile is absolutely heart-wrenching. She turns to leave.

"Wait, Kiyoura-san!" I shout after her. She stops, but doesn't turn in my direction.

"I think everything that should be discussed was discussed. " She responds and starts casually walking away.

"Wait... Setsuna." She stops and this time turns in my direction. Although she's smiling, I can see new tears forming in her eyes. "Why are you hiding it? Tell her the truth."

"...Truth?" She asks, visibly surprised. "That I love her?"

"Certainly. Do it."

"You... You don't mind...?" I give her a smile, slight but friendly.

"It's up to Sekai. If she decides to be with you, I'll casually step aside." I thought that this way of thinking labels Saionji a little like an object that everyone can use... But I think she would be able to understand Kiyoura. Her best friend. Her sister. Her...

Her lover.

I still feel stings in my heart, hurting painfully.

When I've finally returned from park, Sekai was apparently waiting for me. She looked puzzled... And the fact that Kiyoura was with her, didn't help at all.

So, Setsuna decided to confess?

"Can we... talk for a little while?" Saionji asks, still pretty flustered.

"Sure, what's up?" I try to sound as casually as possible.

"Um... You see... It's a delicate thing... Setsuna, would you mind if we'll talk four eyes only?" The little girl only smiles gently and steps aside.

"Okay, now you get me interested." I say, although I suspect the incoming events... And I'm not sure if they're positive or not.

"You see, Setsuna talked to me some time ago today. She looked completely depressed and down, so I asked her what's wrong... She answered that she loves me." Cue awkward silence.

"She said it?"

"Even weirder... She said that this feeling towards me is wrong, at least in her eyes."

"Did she explain it?"

"Unfortunately, no." Thank goodness. "To be honest... I was shocked. I've never thought that she could actually... love me." Saionji looks adorable with this troublesome expression, I must say. "I told her that, well, I have a boyfriend... But she looked so sad..."

"I see..."

"So I suggested that we can form a love triangle!" My girlfriend exclaims enthusiastically, making me almost go down in shock.

"You did what?" I asked, still unbelieving.

"I was expecting this kind of reaction from you, you know?" Saionji giggles lightly.

"Excuse me... But how we're going to pull that off?" I ask, giving a glare at Setsuna. She doesn't show any emotions, although I'm almost certain that she's incredibly happy.

"We're going to hang out together and stuff like that."

"Well... Although it can be troublesome to do, if you're okay with it..." She suddenly hugs me with laughter.

"Oh, thank you so much! We're gonna have so much fun!" We? No, not quite... If I remember, this was the situation I was trying to avoid... Well, at least both of them are accepting each other and, thankfully, I'm not the central part of said triangle.

"Oh, Karen and Kokoro-chan are here!" Saionji exclaims. I turned around, curious. Comparing, Katou-san was much more lively and happy than on her sister's funeral. I hope she got over with it. Meanwhile, sister of Katsura-san still looks like seven. Is she really only year younger than Karen?

"Hey, all of you!" Katou-san says cheerfully. The others greet her as well. "We've thought we can join to you for a short while.

"Sure." Kokoro adds. "The idea of doing a party for _Onee-chan _is awesome!"

"Saionji was the first to mention about it." Itou says with smile. Sekai only giggles quietly.

"Nah, it's an idea of all of us." She answers humbly.

"So, now that everyone's here, let's go and find some present!" Sawanaga exclaims gleefully.

* * *

Looking for something fitting Katsura-san was, to be honest, a difficult task. She was that kind of person that you should be very cautious when making gifts. When we asked Kokoro about it, she pondered a bit and said that a book will be the most suiting. The trouble was, however, when we asked her about preferable kind of book. It would appear that Kotonoha reads some serious, philosophical literature.

"The author is... Um... Niche?" Kokoro said, confused.

"Nietzsche perhaps?" Setsuna suggested.

"Oh, oh, that one! The book she was looking for was about some guy with strange name... I think his name was on letter "Z"..."

"Zarathustra." Ashikaga said, slightly surprised.

"Uhm. Weird name, isn't it?" Katsura-san's sister giggled.

"I didn't expect... Katsura-san, of all people, a nihilist?" Kasanoin said, even more surprised.

"Meh, maybe she only likes hard, mind-shattering books like that." Taisuke murmured.

"You're calling Nietzsche "mind-shattering"?" Setsuna asked very slowly, with hearable venom in her voice. Sekai and Hikari started laughing.

And now, we're coming back home. I'm still wondering about my talk with Kiyoura and all these consequences that happened afterwards. Both she and Sekai are perfectly okay with this... Maybe I should step aside?

"So, we're going to do a party at Katsura-san's place?" Nanami asks.

"Sure. Both Mum and Dad shouldn't make any complaints." Kokoro answers with gleeful smile on her face. She and Katou-san somehow managed to get fit on the same bicycle. "Oh, I can't wait to see her face! _Onee-chan_ will be so happy! And now, that she has _Onii-chan_ with her, she'll be even happier!" Itou looks at her, somewhat confused.

"_Onii... chan_?" He asks with disbelief.

"Uh-huh! You know, you and _Onee-chan_ are going to have married! We'll be like real family!" Makoto gasps, shocked by these words.

"Wait, wait, that's not quite how it goes...!" He starts, but is interrupted by Sawanaga and Kasanoin's laughter.

"...And then you'll have children and I'm gonna be an aunt! Yay!" Although the things are going too far, it's so amusing it's not even funny. Nanami, Hikari and Sekai join the two laughing ones, making Kokoro even more hyper and Itou even more embarrassed.

"...Ch-c-chil-dren?" He whispers, shocked and frightened.

"That's how it goes." I say, allowing myself to smirk slightly. Both younger and older Katou-san smirk as well: One in the real life, one in my mind. Meanwhile, Amadeo and Samuel are still laughing their asses off.

"Tastes... Like... Diabetes..." Stratoavis mumbles, visibly disgusted. We spend some time laughing and talking... It was so peaceful, so full of happiness..."

A little too much. Something was off. Something was in the air... It had a very characteristic smell, impossible to mistake with anything else.

Smell of death.

"Okay, we'll be going now." Karen says, smiling. "Tomorrow morning, everyone's at Katsura-san's place! We're going to make a party!"

"Yeah!" We exclaims(Well, they exclaims) enthusiastically.

"So, see you later."

"Yeah, bye." Kokoro adds with even bigger smile than Katou-san's. Their bicycle starts riding slowly, through the street. Suddenly, I can hear someone's scream. I'm not sure who was talking, but I do remember the words.

"WATCH OUT!" The big, runaway truck appeared meters from girls's bicycle...

And then hit them.

* * *

**So, there you have it. It'll be worse from this point... Teehee. Okay then, read and write feedbacks. **


	15. Chapter 14: Secundus Gradus Ad Insaniam

**And now, let's continue.**

* * *

What just happened?

What in the world just happened?

"KOKORO!" Someone screams in sheer terror.

"KAREN!" Someone adds his or her scream.

I can only watch. I feel that my legs and hands are frozen. Stuck in one place, paralyzed. I cannot hear, I cannot see.

I cannot sense.

"My my, what a wonderful, gory death." Stratoavis chuckles in my mind, apparently amused by the situation.

"They're still alive."

"That's what you'd like to believe, eh?" My evil twin stops chuckling and starts cackling like a maniac.

"Shut up!"

"Oh no, I'd like to say something more..."

"SHUT UP!" Silence. He takes a little while to react.

"So you're that moved by this... accident?" He finally asks, with noticeably different voice. It's like he's... comforting me.

"They cannot die. They'll live. Of course they'll live."

"As much as I would want it too, they're probably dead." He says after a while. What is he implying? Can't he see that these two will get better? "Even if they manage to survive, they'll be likely crippled til their deaths."

"What are you talking about? They'll be fine. Of course they'll be fine."

"They've just got hit by a speeding truck. If you want, I can mention all the wounds and injuries they're suffering..."

"Shut up."

"Broken arms. Mutilated insides. Heads, torn off."

"Shut up!"

"Take a look at those eyes." He says with mocking tone, grabbing my neck and forcing me to see them. Those are the eyes of the little girl, the eyes which lost their live. They're empty... They're the void. The center of this pitch-black abyss. "Still thinking that they're alive?"

"SHUT UP!"

* * *

I wake up, terrified. It's the middle of the night. I feel that my body is covered with cold sweat.

Good Lord. What was that? A dream? A prophecy? Whatever was that... I don't want to see it again.

It has to have some kind of meaning. What kind of meaning, I don't know. I'm extremely grateful that this is only a dream though.

Holy mother of everything, why are you testing me? What did I do to you? Is this some kind of a supernatural force that tries to return the things to their normal, bloody state?

If that's the case, then go screw yourself, Mr. Force-a-Nature. I won't let it happen like it happened before.

Itou stabbed like a pincushion. Katsura-san mauled by a train. Sekai with her throat sliced off and stomach cut open.

I'm not exactly the weakest person when it comes down to graphic descriptions, but the thought of her, ending like that... This is too much to bear. This is something I wouldn't like to see. Never and ever.

I personally survived the attack of a chainsaw-wielding psycho and personally necksnapped her as well, but such... feeble death makes me go sick. When I imagine Saionji's mutilated body, something inside of me goes awry.

Oh, how I wish that this is only a bad dream... But maybe... Maybe it's the punishment.

My task was to prevent the events from other dimensions. I once stated that it should be done efficiently, without any kinds of casualties. Maybe I'm doing wrong, engaging myself with Sekai? Maybe this is the case? Maybe we should part ways...?

Then again, the first victim, Katou-san, died before that memorable evening at Radish. So, does that mean our love isn't prohibited?

I take a look at my hands. They're calm. So no, I'm not going nuts again. Who knows though, maybe the madness is slow and cunning this time? Maybe it doesn't want to show up and run me into false feeling of safety?

I'm thinking too much. Way too much. All these events now want to remind themselves. Uh, what a pain, agonal misery...

Gah, to hell with this one. I'm going back to sleep... And I hope nothing will disturb me this time.

* * *

Unfortunately, the next dream, while not gory and solemn, was much more disturbing.

It was your average day at Sakakino Gakuen. Usual banters with Sekai, excercising mind with Setsuna, facepalms while watching Sawanaga's antics... There was nothing unusual about this day at all.

Until the evening.

Saionji asked if I can come to Radish. She said that the matter is very important and it shouldn't be delayed. Since it was Friday(Because for some reason, Sakakino Gakuen is pretty westernized with all its antics: While other schools still work on Saturdays, we have a day off), I hadn't any plans, so I decided that sure, I can come. I wondered what can be so important and why Radish... Then again, it was Sekai we were talking about. She's by far the most unpredictable person I've known, so maybe there is something in it.

To be honest... I'm still wondering about certain thing: Sekai's smile. While it's not a bad thing by any means, she's smiling almost all the time I've seen her. I don't know if this is a facade or perhaps she truly is so cheerful. She has something that I don't: Energy and hope. She hadn't an opportunity to meet sadness in person, I think. Oh well, she's the lucky one... And who knows, with her attitude and people around me, maybe it's possible for me to regain the sweet remains of my own childhood.

Anyways, I've came to Radish at Saionji's demand. The place was... surpisingly empty. The only one I've seen was Hikari behind the bar, looking incredibly bored.

"Good evening, Kuroda-san." I said. The girl with strange hairstyle got somewhat more lively.

"Oh, hey." She greeted me, smiling.

"May I ask if Saionji-san's in here?"

"Sekai's waiting at you in meeting room. It's marked, so you shouldn't have any problems with finding it."

"Thank you. I shall be going then." I directed myself into said room. Everything was going smooth and quick...

Something wasn't right about it.

I found afromentioned room rather easily. Sekai was sitting on couch, apparently waiting... However, she was... sleeping? Did she fall asleep while waiting for me? I gotta say, looking at her like that... She was incredibly adorable with her head slowly swaying back and forth. I couldn't resist the urge, so I... patted her on the head. I do believe I even smiled for a short while.

Then, she opened her eyes.

It wasn't a slow, sleepy rise of her eyelids. She did it rapidly and without any warning, effectively scaring me like no tommorrow. She also suddenly smiled... And that smile wasn't pleasant or cheerful. It was a cunning, triumphant grimace that imitated smile. Now I got it, she tricked me into believing that she's sleeping, but still... What was the point of that...?

Then, the sound of locking the door of the room we've been into... And I was starting to realize why I was lured in here.

"Hey... Casper-kun." She said, smiling and closing to me.

"Oh, good evening... Saionji-san. You asked me if I can come here... so I'm here... All to your disposition." Wait, what did I say? Her smile went wider.

"That's what I like to hear." She whispered, literally throwing herself at me and kissing me forcefully. I already know why I've been summoned in here. I know what Sekai's up to... But the sweet taste of her lips blocks out every rational thought that would've been able to allow me to escape the situation... Blinded by love indeed.

"Take me."

"As you wish, Sekai."

* * *

DAMNIT!

The words that I've uttered in sheer terror just a moment ago. Jesus, this shouldn't look like that... This cannot look like that!

I... I don't know. I really don't know what I'm going to do. Will it really end like that? Am I going to become a new Itou...?

...No, it's not like that. Makoto forced himself into girls, I don't. Then again, this dimension surprised many times, way too many. Maybe this is the case? Maybe my belief in other worlds is going to end me?

Maybe my presence affected this world so much?

Suddenly, the phone rings. It's from... Katsura-san?

"Hello, Wala Casper speaking. Good evening, Katsura-san. No, you didn't wake me up... Huh? What's that? Wha...? Good Lord... Are you okay? Does Makoto know...? No? Uh... I... I see. If that's what you wish for, then okay. I hope you'll be alright. Yeah, until we meet again." I hang up and start choosing Itou's number.

Katsura-san's bus had an accident. Out of forty people in here, only ten of them survived... Front crash with incoming truck. Kotonoha by herself has a broken leg and a few minor wounds, but still managed to come out of this hell alive. They're now waiting for some rescue... However, Katsura-san asked me one thing.

She asked if I can be the one to deliver this message to her boyfriend.

I'm not sure why, of all people, she chose me. I think saying it personally or at least giving to, say, Sekai, would be more appropiate. I think she's overestimating me a bit, but her word is a wish.

_"...'lo_?" Itou's weak, sleepy voice asked.

"Itou, Casper speaking. Uh... I want to you to stay calm and listen, okay?"

"_Wha...?"_

"Katsura-san had an accident on her way home..." As I suspected, this single message brought him to full awareness.

"_Accident_?" He almost screamed to his phone, effectively deafening me. "_How is she? Is she alright_?"

"Calm down. Yes, she's fine, she only broke her leg."

"_WHAT DO YOU MEAN ONLY_?" I don't know why, but he started getting agressive. Now I kinda get it: Katsura-san looked for someone who will be able to calm Itou down and not get accidentally offended. "_WHY I DON"T KNOW ANYTHING_?"

"Katsura-san knew that you will act like that." I said harshly. "I don't think you'd like to scare her even more then she is already." Though slightly unpleasant, it worked, he gasped, then took a deep breath.

"_Where is she_?" He asked in much cooler voice.

"She didn't tell me... She did tell me however that she's one of the ten survivors of the accident. They've already requested rescue."

"I _see..." _

"No worries, Itou." I said, trying to cheer him up. I'm not sure if I succeed, but he seem to be somewhat calmer than before. "Thankfully she's okay and should be transported to the hospital soon."

"_Well, if you say so_... _Anyway, thanks for letting me know_."

"No problem. Goodnight." I hung up and put the phone on the desk. I've got the feeling that this year will be somehow much more complicated than the previous one.

Much more complicated.

* * *

"I've heard about the accident from Makoto-kun." Sekai says and I'm trying to avoid exchanging glares with her. After that night's nightmare... "That's terrible, but thank goodness she's okay."

"They said in radio that they'll call the national mourning." Nanami says, sitting on the desk with newspaper in hand. "Three days long."

"I'm not the biggest fan of mournings." I say, opening the can with coke. "I've seen them way too many in previous few years. Since 2005... Uh, let me see..."

"I don't think talking about such things is the most appropiate at the moment." Setsuna interrupts quietly, looking at Itou. He's devastated, just like he was when Katsura-san was taken into custody after Otome's funeral. Sawanaga is trying to cheer him up, with no effect.

"Only a broken leg... Katsura-san surely is watched by the Fate." I say, looking at the newspaper. "Tragedy at highway", it says. Thirty victims, most of them in age between 13 and 18.

"Gah, it's no use." Sawanaga says, interrupting my thoughts. "I don't know if there's now a way to make him smile."

"I suggest leaving him alone." Of all people, Saionji's the one to said it. "I know it's rather cruel, but I'm afraid we can't help him in any way."

"Well... There is a way." Nanami says. "Though it's somewhat nonstandard."

"What do you mean?"

"Kumi-san... She's a... uh, hypnotizer."

"Hypnotizer?" I ask, surprised.

"She once said that her mum is giving her lessons in this. Still, it sounds rather... unreal." Sawanaga muttered, giving a slight look at Itou.

"Well, I would say he wants to leave him alone for a minute or two." I say. "Let's not bother him now."

* * *

Finally, after several days, Katsura-san was allowed to have visitors. Naturally, we gathered together and went to the hospital: Myself, Sekai, Itou, Setsuna, Hikari with Sawanaga, Nanami with Kasanoin, Kokoro, Karen and Ashikaga. No trace of Kumi. Maybe she wanted to avoid Makoto? Who knows?

Thankfully, I managed to forget about this horrendous dream and view Sekai normally, as my girlfriend... But... Uh, Setsuna's still around. It's not a bad thing, but that "threesome"... Was that a dream as well?

Nah, I'll think about it later.

We spent some quality time with Katsura-san until evening. It was when Itou asked if he and Katsura-san could be left alone for a short while. We left the room and started waiting I decided that maybe this is a time to ask Sekai about... these actions.

"Sekai, can we talk on the outside?" I ask, trying to avoid exchanging glares with her.

"Sure." After short walk, we're already outside the hospital. The atmosphere... It resembles my chatter with Reina after Koizumi's death. "Is there something bothering you, Casper-kun?"

"Yeah... Though it's somewhat embarassing to talk about it."

"Go on."

"Yesterday... We've been in the shopping centre, haven't we?"

"Yes..." I can feel that I'm trembling. Saionji notices it.

"Hey... Is everything allright?" She asks, concerned.

"We shall see..." I respond, taking a sit on the nearby bench.

"Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah, yeah... But I should close to the merits. Well... Did you remind if Kiyoura asked you for four-eyes chatter?" Sekai ponders for a while.

"Setsuna? No, we didn't talk like that yesterday. Why do you ask?" I can feel massive stone crushing and dropping from my heart.

"Heh... It's somewhat complicated now that you ask... But don't get mad at me."

"Huh? Why should I?"

"I got a nightmare last night. I've been chatting with Kiyoura and guess what she told me? That she's lesbian, loves you and, to make things funnier, is your half-sister." At first, I'm afraid that she will scold me for thinking about Setsuna in such way or even get seriously offended. Thankfully, her personality and character apparently forgive me as she starts laughing out loud and nearly trips over. Her eyes are filled with joyful tears.

"Seriously?" She says, amused.

"Yeah... Somewhat."

"Dear goodness, I was actually afraid that you're going to say something scary... But this? Just wait 'til I tell Setsuna about this, she will laugh like no tommorrow!"

"I'd rather you don't." She looks a bit dissapointed, but after all smiles gently. This smile...

This smile is the biggest reward I could ever get in my life.

"No worries." She says. "Though Setsuna's my best friend, I love you." I can feel I smile as well.

"Thank you, Sekai. Thank you for being alongside me... Thank you for everything." We're hugging each other, yet again chained with this strong and strange feeling that some people may call... "love".

"Itou, where you're going?" Sawanaga's voice brings us to the normal. We can see Makoto running forward and disappearing in the dark alley. The others join us instantly.

"What's wrong?" Saionji asks, concerned.

"He... He dumped her." Hikari responds grimly. The long silence only makes me sure that the words I've heard aren't just a cruel joke.

"My, my, looks like we have an deja vu." Stratoavis says, apparently delighted.

"_So, it starts now_." Himler adds, somewhat sad because of it.

"**Goddamnit, I'll find the bastard and skin him alive**!" Amadeo growled, apparently pissed off.

"Why... Why?" I can hear my own voice, asking again and again.

"We don't know and Katsura-san didn't want to tell us as well. She told us... To leave her alone." Nanami says sadly. "But I don't understand... Why did he do it? They looked as a perfect couple." Now... I remind myself.

The incident at Kumi's house... Makoto saw it that night. So, is he justified?

Even if, that moron still has a goddamn bad timing! His girlfriend - well, ex-girlfriend - lies injured in the hospital and asks for support from his side and what does he do? Flatly abandons her!

Wait...

"You left her alone...?" I whisper, terrified. Not waiting for others, I start running to the hospital, as fast as I can. Dark thoughts fill my mind right now. I cannot be late this time. Not this time!

* * *

_Retrospection_

_""When I was like ten, I had an accident. We've been in train, when it went off the rails and fell down the road, crashing pretty big chunk of a highway. My father died and I was transported to the hospital with a very serious head injury... Thankfully, Kokoro and my mother were unharmed. I've seen many victims of this tragedy in this hospital, many of them were begging doctors to kill them... They said that my brain was damaged and that I will in the future suffer some mental instability that can transform into permanent one if under some strong negative emotions. That's one of the two reasons for me to avoiding romantic relationships... If dumped, I could possibly become very dangerous... And hurt 's why I beg you for one favor. If... If Kokoro will be killed..._

_Kill me as well._

* * *

Katsura-san is about to jump out of the window. She's already one leg on the windowsill.

I grab her and pull her back. Thankfully, she's not harmed in any other way... Besides her eyes.

They're empty. They're lifeless. Just like the eyes of Natsumi Koizumi.

"No, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO!" I can hear my own voice screaming in sheer terror. "Don't do it to me, Katsura-san! Come on, wake up! Snap out of it! Snap out of it!" I can feel that my hands start shake her forcefully, as it could help in some way. "Please, wake up! Goddamnit, what about your sister, your family, your friends? Snap out of it! Please, snap out of this madness... This abyss..." Are those tears in my eyes? I'm pretty sure that yes, I can feel their salty flavour in my throat. She doesn't react... Doesn't even seem to notice me.

She's now a plant. Vegetable, drooling vegetable... And this is a fault of two people.

Kumi Mori and Makoto Itou.

The others are here as well. They notice the opened window.

"Good lord..." I can hear Ashikaga's voice. They notice me, clinging to non-sentient now Katsura-san, crying. They stood silent, apparently shocked. Giving me the time to rethink everything.

To plan the sweet, just retribution.

I'm enraged, though I don't show it.

"Take care of her, I need to do one thing." I say, leaving. They don't follow me, not even Sekai. That's better, much better. I choose Kumi's number, but she doesn't respond. After sighing I decide to call Itou. Luckily for my plans, he picks up.

"_Is this something important? I'd rather be alone now."_

"Yes, it's urgent. Revolves around Katsura-san."

"_How... How is Kotonoha?"_

"That's what I like to talk about. Meet me at school's rooftop, in half an hour. Don't be late." Not waiting, I hang up and hurry up.

Everything's going to hell.


	16. Chapter 15: Reina's discovery

**Another chapter... Let's get deeper into this madness.**

* * *

It's the time.

The time Itou should be here.

I'm on the school's rooftop, thinking about events from just few hours ago... About when that idiot dumped Katsura-san and left her alone.

I wonder... Was he instructed about Kotonoha's mental fragility? Perhaps if he knew, he'd rather wait until she recovers... Not that it makes any difference. Injured or not, she's still the same person she used to be... Like a delicate flower on the strong wind.

Now petals of said flower were brutally cut with chainsaw of Itou's lack of empathy.

There's also Kumi who started the whole case. If not her lust, Makoto wouldn't do something like that. If not her actions, that cretin would still be in love with Katsura-san.

Uh... It's all so complicated... I need to rethink everything once again. How can I exact my... vendetta? Should I really? To be honest, it isn't business of mine. Maybe I should step aside and...

No.

I... I don't know. I'm lost in all these things, surrounded by all these people, somewhat... lonely in all this. This is my... Huh, mission. Destiny to alter the things... But didn't I do it already? I stopped the insane murderer, so everything should be fine... Why I get involved in all this fuss?

Well, I'm kinda interested in Katsura-san's fate... But, when she said that her next mental damage can be permanent...? What if this process cannot be rewinded? What if she'll end like that...?

Let me think about it. The papers... Papers from Himler said something about it. It was written that she did suffered a mental breakdown in most dimensions, but recovered when Itou actually did apologize for his actions... Then, all hell went loose when the moron died from the hand of Sekai. So, if I can persuade Makoto to... return to her... Everything could've been normal.

I can only hope that I won't have to use some excessive methods of persuading.

There he is. He walks slowly, but apparently sees me as he directs himself towards me.

"So, you wanted to talk about Kotonoha." He starts.

"Yes, I wanted." There's a long silence between next words. "Damnit, Itou. Why did you do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You dumped Katsura-san because of that event at Kumi's house, is that correct?" He hesitates with an answer for a while.

"...Yes."

"Why?" One would think that this is a very simple question. Meanwhile, Makoto struggled hard to work out an appropiate answer.

"Well... I, uh... Why are you concerned with this?" Oh, feeling defensive, aren't we?

"You want direct truth or perhaps you want to say it more subtly?"

"Wha...?"

"Did you know about her mental fragility?" He seems surprised.

"Mental... fragility?" He finally says.

"So, she didn't tell you." Sigh from my lips sounds awfully loud in this place.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" He asks, confused.

"When we were going to Koizumi... She told me she had an accident in childhood. As an effect, she suffered some serious brain damage. She said that under strong press from negative emotions, she can become mentally unstable and... either get very violent or turn into a lifeless doll made of flesh and bone..." Silence. "The doctors told her that this injury can become... permanent under especially strong emotions... Things like rejection." Still silence. "Jesus, Itou. Where's your goddamned tact?"

"Why are you getting mad at me?" He retorts, somewhat agressively. "It's her own fault! If she didn't... Didn't betray me..."

"She was drunk, for Heaven's sake! When will it get down to your thick skull?"

"I'll ask again, why are you getting involved in our relationship?"

"So there STILL is a relationship, even after you left her alone?"

"It's her own fault!"

"Stop repeating yourself! If you had at least a tiny portion of understanding, you wouldn't left her alone with this injured leg. What do you think she'll become without you? You turned her into a plant!"

"Go screw yourself!" So, he ran out of his arguments, though I'm still too angry to notice it.

"Not until you'll fix the damn thing!" Punch, directly in my chin. I take a few steps back, stunned.

Did... Did he just punch me? Sure, his hand is still in the air and Makoto himself apparently doesn't know what he's doing.

"Whoa... I'm sorry, I got carried away." He starts apologizing. "You can return it, I really didn't mean it."

"Good we've reached the consensus." I respond. The urge to smash his face with properly aimed hit is very tempting, but... It'll lead us nowhere. "But I won't hit you back, Itou... This isn't what I've been striving for, so, please, listen to me carefully. It isn't an order, it's an advice. You should return to Katsura-san, see for yourself how is she and try to... make her come back to the land of the living."

"I... I cannot."

"Can you tell me, why you can't?"

"It... It won't be right. Drunk or not... Kotonoha betrayed me. I... I'm not sure I can forgive something like this."

"Maybe you should talk with her about it?"

"I doubt it works."

"I see... Still, I think you should at least see her and talk to her... If you really want to leave her, at least explain yourself."

"I think... I think I'll need a couple of days to do it."

"Do it as quickly as you can. Please." He nods slowly and turns to leave. "Oh, Itou..."

"Yeah?"

"Please, don't forget about it."

* * *

Both Kumi and Makoto aren't coming to the school from several days in a row.

To be honest, I'm somewhat worried, especially about that moron. He doesn't pick up phones nor nobody has seen him. Ditto with Kumi, but... Did she know? Did she know that it's her fault that things went so messy? Also, did she see Katsura-san? If yes... Is she aware of her doings? Or perhaps she would like to blame someone else for it?

Gah, I'm goddamn lost in all this fuss... Wait, is it she? Yes, I can see Kumi chatting with Ryan and Kazuya. Why are they with her? She notices me and her cheerful smile and pretty much all of emotions are gone. They changed into a blank mask of emotionlessness.

"Oh, good morning, Sensui-san, Omazaki-san... Kumi-san." I greet all of them with little hesitation when mentioning the girl.

"Mornin'." Kazuya responds.

"Oh hi." Ryan answers cheerfully.

"Good morning." Kumi looks at me. For some reason, I can see some kind of flame in her eyes. Is she angry?

"Quite a time you weren't in school, Kumi-san. Mind if I ask why?"

"Oh, a cold." She responds quickly and turns her eyes back. She's lying.

"I see..." I need to play her game, so she won't get suspicious or something. "Can we talk? There's an important matter that I'd like to discuss with you. Four eyes." Kazuya looks at me somewhat unpleasantly. He's slightly shorter than me, but picks some powerful muscles.

"Of course. Rooftop on lunch break?"

"I'll be waiting." I respond politely, giving her a slight smile. She gives me a smile as well - though it's an extremely insincere one - and turns away with her... Uh, goons? Omazaki and Sensui seem to protect her just like they protected Koizumi...

"Oh, Wala-san!" I turn back to see Reina. She holds a notebook and seems somewhat serious. "I'm glad I've managed to find you. Can we talk? It's important."

"Right now?"

"I'd prefer that."

"Okay, lead the way." She goes to the rooftop and is silent for some short time. "So what is this important matter?"

"I think... I think I found the true killer of Katou-san."

Wha...? What is she talking about? Isn't it obvious that she was killed by deranged Koizumi? That's... interesting.

"Repeat yourself, please."

"I think I found the murderer..." Reina opens her notebook and gives me a photo from it. "It's a shot done by camera on the train station. It shows Katou-san being pushed by some unknown man. He has a hood, so his true identity remains a mystery... Until now. I assumed that the killer is someone from school, just like Koizumi-san... So I've put a colour filter on the camera. It turns out that the blouse of the murderer is dark blue, without any markings... The silhouette is definitely belonging to a man, which leads us to the owner of said blouse."

"Wait, wait... Firstly, why are you telling me this? Secondly, you do know that this way of assuming is somewhat shady?" She hesitates a moment before turning. She seems somewhat upset.

"You're the only person I can trust right now."

"Huh? Aren't your father a cop?"

"He labeled the case as the deed of Koizumi-san and won't listen to me despite all the evidence."

"Well, it still is rather shady. I mean, it could be either man or woman, the silhouette is too general."

"Which is why I put this filter."

"Still, even if we assume that it really was done by someone from this school, how can you know about someone's garment? It can belong to pretty much everyone."

"Everything has a serial number, even pieces of clothes. After zooming I noticed that the number is 25879... And I reminded myself that I've seen the... murderer with this blouse before." For some odd reason, she seems awfuly hesitant to say the word "murderer" even though she used it before with no flinching whatsoever.

"So... Who is it?"

"...Itou Makoto."

The smirk. That smirk. That goddamned smirk!

Still, I'll try to defend it. Though unlikely, Reina maybe is mistaken... Maybe.

"Why would he do such a thing?" I ask flatly, observing her cautiously.

"He seemed very dedicated to Katsura-san before they broke up." You mean when he left her. "Katou-san... You remember the bra incident, don't you? It could've been extremely shocking for Itou-san, seeing his friend - because they were friends in spite of all the vileness she did to Katsura-san - acting like that. I think you remember his famous rant to Katou-san when he called her like he did... But it wasn't enough for him." Reina stopped for a moment. She apparently tries to convince me that death of Otome was done by Makoto. Though it still seems that she's right... "He went a step further... And pushed her."

"The likes of him would easily spit out the truth in a matter of days." I retort.

"He didn't come on Katou-san's funeral. His conscience couldn't stand such a thing. I know because I wasn't there either... That's when I noticed Itou-san sitting in some pub and sulking. I was absent for a few days, so I asked him what happened... Should you see the look on his face, you could easily tell how crushed and devastated he was... A little too much. He knew that appearing on her funeral would be nothing short of an insult to injury. He still was pale for a couple of days after he returned to school."

"Now that you mention it... He did... No, no, no, it makes no sense!"

"You're trying to defend him, aren't you?" It's more of a statement than a question, but I get the point.

"What are you going to do?"

"Go to his place and convice him to go to the police."

"You won't listen to you... And I'm afraid it'll have to wait a little bit."

"Huh? What are you...?"

"Have you seen Katsura-san?"

"Yeah, I've heard about her accident from Hikari-chan. Didn't know she was in that fatal bus though... But we've chatted a bit, she seemed fine... Why do you ask?"

"She's not fine anymore and it's a fault of Itou."

"Wha-what do you mean? Don't tell me...!"

"You see, he left her like some piece of trash in yesterday evening... And it's getting more complicated from here."

"Tell me everything... Did I miss something?" So I tell her: The incident at Kumi's house and how Makoto saw it, his act of dumping Katsura-san, its consequences and my evening chatter with him at the same day."

"Good gravy... So... So it's Kumi-san's fault?"

"Yup, and I'm perfectly sure that she did know that Katsura-san has a boyfriend... So, let sum it up: Makoto kills Katou-san, this triggers the "ax crazy" mode in Koizumi. She kills Obuchi in the process, but is... stopped later on. When everything seems fine, Kumi makes out with drunk Katsura-san and Itou finds out. He then dumps her like a idiot he is - because he couldn't choose the better moment for this - effectively turning Katsura-san into a plant made of flesh and bone."

"So... You need him to make him apologize Katsura-san in order to make her return to normal?"

"Ishida-san, you don't even know how much of a gamble it is. Should he choose not to apologize her, everything will end in a downer: She's a plant, he - convicted. However, if he does apologize her, she'll still go awry when she'll find out..." I stop for a moment, looking at the cloudy sky. "Although I think that there's a tiny chance that Katsura-san will eventually snap out of it and will forgive Itou for all the things he's done to her and the others."

"I see... Oh boy, I don't know what to do. He needs to apologize before going to the police, right?"

"Yes, though I still don't know if he will."

"I... I understand, but I cannot leave it like that. I'm sorry, but..."

"I think you should apologize Katsura-san, although I'm not sure if she'll understand you in her current state." I know, it's kinda harsh, but I still need this moron to fix it up.

"I... I... Gah, fine. Though I can't stand it..."

"Let us go for a compromise: I'll assist you on the way to his place and we'll tell him that we know and give him some time... Then, the only thing that we can wait for is his conscience to go ballistic."

"I see." There's a long moment of silence before Reina's next words. "Thanks."

"There's no need for thanking me yet, we still have a way to go... Uh, I recall saying something similar when I was instructing Katsura-san about boys when their relationship was still unstable..."

"You did what?"

"Oh... Uh, it's a longer story."

* * *

Now, it's lunch break time.

The time Kumi should be here.

I'm waiting on the rooftop, alone. Sekai, thankfully, doesn't mind when I ask her for a bit of loneliness. Usually it gives me an inspiration to writing, this time it'll bring me closer to ending this whole mess.

There she is... But why she's with Kazuya and Ryan? Oh, that doesn't look good. I need to be prepared for some unpleasant aftermath once when we're done talking.

"Why are you with those two?" I ask, looking at them.

"Oh, they wanted to assist me and I simply couldn't refuse them." She's lying and her lies are so bad it makes me sad. I used to be(Well, I still am) quite a liar, telling some false things without even a slightest flinch. Usually they aren't big things... But let's get back to the topic, shall we? "Besides, I do believe it's only a friendly chat, doesn't it?"

"Not quite, I wanted to talk about something rather important."

"Go on then, these two won't mind."

"But I will, Kumi-san. Is it possible for us to have a chat... alone?"

"Just cut to the chase." Kazuya growls, looking at me unpleasantly. Omazaki tries to be somewhat friendlier, but he's simply outclassed by his bulkier pal.

"Uh... Okay then." I clear my throat somewhat nervously, looking at Sensui. He looks like a challenging opponent and I wouldn't like to be his. "It involves that incident at your place... with Katsura-san." She seems unfazed.

"What incident?"

"I'd rather really tell you that in a four-eyes chatter... But fine, have it your way. I'm talking about your vile act of theft. You made Katsura-san drunk, then lured her to the bedroom and allowed your bodies to... do the rest. You were perfectly aware that she has a boyfriend, Makoto, that is. Because of you, he dumped her believing she betrayed him and..."

"And what?" These two words make me realize that this isn't the same kind girl I used to know. She seems to have some kind of a cold, ominous aura around her... Just like Koizumi had before her insanity. "Why are you getting involved? You shouldn't butt in other people's lifes, should you?"

"Pot to kettle, Kumi-san."

"You'd better watch your words...!" Kazuya starts, walking towards me, but he's stopped by Kumi's move of hand.

"Wala-san, don't get me wrong. I was observing their relationship quite some time and you know what? He betrayed her first." The sudden thought strikes my mind... No, it's preposterous.

"What do you mean?"

"You do remember the time Katou-san died? After the funeral, when Obuchi and Koizumi were still with us, we parted ways and I headed to one shopping centre, wanting to forget about that, somehow. You know who I saw in one of the alleyways?"

"...No... You really don't..."

"Of course I do." Kumi smiled maliciously and that smile was strangely fitting. "He and Ishida-san were in the dark, kissing each other. It didn't look as she was the one to start either. Who knows, maybe he'd even go further if she didn't stop him. That's all about your sincere Itou Makoto.

You know, I find it rather ironic right now. Doesn't "Makoto" means something like "trust" or "honesty"...? Of course, it could be Kumi's plan to throw me off. Maybe she made it up. Maybe she simply wants to screw with me, reasons unknown...

But I do feel she ain't. She's telling the most brutal, straightforward truth and apparently is amused, watching me trying to somehow explain it. It was just like with Koizumi... She too had that iron mask when speaking. Either Kumi's a perfect liar or is speaking the truth... But since there's no such thing as "perfect"...

"Now, Kotonoha must've been so lonely and depressed, you know? Perfect for me to go in and try to cheer her up... And who knows, maybe she'll start looking at me in different way..." I cannot help, but smile. Apparently, Kumi doesn't know about Katsura-san's current state. "What's so funny?" She asks rather unpleasantly.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all..." I can hear Stratoavis giggling along with me. One of these rare cases when we're agreeing about someone. "Well, the only thing I can now do is to wish you luck. I think you'll need it." It seems my cheer sorta throws her off a bit.

"I... I don't get it. Didn't you just try to push me back from Kotonoha?" For the first time in our chatter, she seems more confused than cold. I find it amusing.

"You have no reason to lie, Kumi-san. I probably forgot about it and that's why I was so stubborn. You know, I believe you. It really is possible for Makoto to do an atrocity like that... After all, everyone has some weaknesses... We're just humans and we tend to... break." I'm starting going to the stairs. "It was a pleasure talking with you, Kumi-san, but the lunch break is almost over, I need to return to classroom." After those words, I'm leaving the rooftop.

Some tiny part of my soul feels extremely awful when thinking about all this. The larger part is only amused, in the very mocking way.

* * *

I decided to not bring the topic of Ishida-san's meeting with Itou anymore, just because of the tact of mine. Now that she requested help with convincing the idiot to go to the police, I decided to assist her in case he'll go agressive.

It's pretty late, school's over, the twlight sets slowly, but relentlessly. We talked a bit about everything and nothing.

Reina's not a bad person, in fact she's far more sweeter and cheerful than I thought. If not the fact I've already have a girlfriend, maybe... Nah, who am I? Itou?

After leaving the train, we're coming to his place. Ishida-san's wearing a blue sweater, jeans and military boots while I'm dressed as usual, in black. Suddenly, my phone rings. The call is from... Makoto?

"Hello, Wala Casper speaking." I respond to the phone, awaiting the response. To my surprise, it's not Itou who called, the voice seem to belong to his younger sister, Itaru.

"_Are you a friend of Big Bro? I need your help, I don't know what to do!"_

"Whoa, no need to panic. What's the matter?"

"_Big Bro is hanging from the ceiling on a towel. When I asked what is he doing, he... didn't respond. Is that some kind of a game from his school...? Hello? Hello?"_

Damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, DAMNIT!

"Hey, what's going on?" Reina shouts after me when I suddenly speed up. She runs now alongside me. "Hey, what's going on?" She asks again, confused.

"Bunch of bad things is going on! It wasn't Itou, it was his sister!"

"What?"

"His sister called from his cellphone... But I hope she's only goddamn joking!"

* * *

There we are, the great room in Itou's place. There's his sister, watching confused. Reina looks and I see her going pale and her eyes much smaller. She takes Itaru with her and both of them go outside. Ishida-san will probably call the police... But who cares?

Makoto Itou, aged sixteen, is hanging on a towel-made noose from the ceiling of his own apartment. Stone. Cold.

Things... Things just went **fuckin**' awry.


	17. Chapter 16: Katsura's tragedy

**And now, the next chapter. Enjoy the slaughterhouse and forgive me the long delay.**

* * *

Is this some kind of a joke?

A prank, and a very weak one to boot? You really cannot be serious, Itou.

Did you really decided to escape from all your problems with such way? You couldn't bear the weight of your own conscience, so you hung yourself... You took the towel, made a noose and hung yourself. You ignored your friends, your future life, your family, everything and everyone, because you couldn't bear it.

I'm still hoping that it really is a joke. You will suddenly come back to life, throw away the noose and laugh at me, because I actually believed that you could go that far. Probably Itaru had already managed to explain the joke to Reina who will laugh alongside me... Everything will be okay. You will go and apologize to Katsura-san. Kumi will realize her mistakes. Everything will go back to normal.

...Except it won't.

I can see your dead eyes and they're resembling eyes of the fish without the water. You're just as scared as that fish, even after you kicked it. You're a coward, Itou. A horrible coward. You left Kotonoha who still resembles the plant. You left your younger sister who apparently doesn't know what's going on. And what about your parents, friends, your dreams...?

Itou, I must admit that I started hating you from the time of your cowardly withdrawal from the hospital... But I thought that maybe you'll repent for your actions. You will stop being such an idiot, go back to Kotonoha and... everything will be like it was... Before death of Katou-san, when almost everything was perfect.

Now I fully understand how mistaken I was. You're just - or maybe you were - a coward til your very end. You couldn't admit that the thing you're doing is wrong, so you decided to take your opinion to your grave.

And now you're watching me with those empty, lifeless eyes. Hanging from the noose you made for yourself... Uh, that's so gross.

You're so gross.

The reason why you killed yourself is even more gross.

I... Uh, I'm tired.

"Police will be arriving shortly." Reina said, entering the room. I could see she's visibly shaken by the picture of dead Itou.

"Good to know. I'm going home, you'll explain them everything, won't you?"

"Wait, you want to leave him like that?"

"Is there anything I can do here?"

"No, but..."

"That's it, Ishida-san. Besides..." I took a last look at that sad sack of meat and bones that was once a human, albeit a cowardly and insincere one. "It was his own choice."

* * *

Uh, I'm tired.

People in the class are depressed because of the Itou's suicide... Sekai doesn't smile. At all, she only greeted me with slight one when I was entering one. That's something unusual, I didn't expect him to be so popular.

Of course, he was quite a ladies man... But here, he was... Meh, ordinary. He was an idiot, that's all. He was a sympathetic chap, right? At least, that's what people are thinking. A sympathetic, maybe a bit goofy and oblivious, but goodhearted nonetheless.

Humans are flawed. Itou was flawed to hell and back. Then again, who isn't? Who the fuck isn't flawed in this crapsack world...?

Gah, I'm swearing too much these days. I gave another look around the class. I saw Nanami and Hikari talking about something. Likely Itou...

"Hey, can we talk?" Sekai's voice got me out of pondering. I looked at her, she seemed concerned.

"Oh, sure. What is it?" I responded.

"Not here. Four-eyes... On the rooftop, if that suits you."

"Sure thing. When?"

"Long break."

"Okay then, I'll be waiting." There was something... off with her voice. Perhaps it was just me, but...

"**It's likely that she knows about the fact you and Reina found Itou."** Amadeo suggested.

"If so, what is there to discuss?"

"**She's clearly worried about you, cretin."**

"Huh? Oh... Oh right..." I smiled weakly. True, I forgot about such a possibility. A cretin I am indeed.

I wonder if Kumi knows about Itou's death already. I'm curious of her reaction, but the important part would be her realization about Katsura-san's current state. What will she do? She loves her, in some sort of a twisted way, but this can be too much for her to bear. I can only hope she won't break. The last thing we need is her going awry. To be honest... I kind of pity her. Not much, but still, she doesn't really deserve to get whacked with a karma hammer that hard. Of course, it's her fault that all of that happened, but still... Eh, guess I'm too soft for that.

It was already the time of a long break, so I headed on rooftop, wondering. Perhaps Sekai really just wants to cheer me up. What else would she want? We're in love. We're supporting each other as much as possible.

There she is, waiting for me. She seems saddened. Well, apart from Itou, I needlessly bother her to make things worse.

"Hey, Sekai. You wanted to talk." I cut straight to the chase. She nods slightly.

"Yeah. Take a seat, 'kay?" I did what she asked for. Saionji herself sat as well, next to me.

"So, what is it? You look down."

"Well... It's about Makoto." Oh great.

"Oh, really?"

"I... I still can't believe that he did it. That he killed himself. Why?" It's tempting to express my opinion about now dead idiot, but seeing as Sekai liked him, I decided against it.

"Who knows? Perhaps he couldn't take it anymore...", I answered after a while. She leaned on me, hugging tightly.

"He couldn't take what? Why did he leave Katsura-san? Why did he do it to her?" She almost shouted, closing her eyes. Seems close to tears as well. I hug her back and start to play with her hair."

"We cannot undo it now. Let's hope Katsura-san will be okay." I really didn't know what to say now. All of my rage just went straight to that corpse that used to be Makoto Itou not so long ago.

"She won't be. You know she won't be." Well, there goes my attempt to calm her down. I said nothing back, hugging her in silence.

"**Funny thing actually. Why the hell did he kill himself?" **Amadeo questioned in my mind.

"_Does it matter right now?" _Himler retorted, frowning.

"**No, really. Let's think about it for a second. Okay, he left Katsura and that was a dick move, but... Was he really that weak? I mean, sure, it leaves a giant mark on your psyche, but it isn't big enough to..." **

"He was that weak." I responded, closing my eyes for a moment. "He was a weak fool. An irresponsible bachelor who not only left Katsura-san like some trash, but had a nerve to betray her."

"**...You've just said it out loud, dude." **

...Oh fuck.

"Betrayed her...?" Sekai asked, looking at me with disbelief, shock even. There are still tears in her eyes... And now there will be more of them.

"...Yes." I answered after a longer while of silence. "Kumi said she saw him with... Ishida-san. There's no reason to not believe her." Saionji was silent. Too silent.

"Why did she do it?" She finally asked, not looking at me.

"Wha...? No, you're mistaken. Itou forced herself into her, not the other way around."

"You're trying to defend her." She gave me a look and for a first time I know her... I saw hatred in those eyes. The same hatred was in eyes of that Sekai who killed Itou herself. "You always try to defend people."

"No, Sekai. I'm telling you the truth or at least what Kumi said she saw. You can ask her if you want." The girl in front of me doesn't respond. "Sekai. Reina isn't even slightly responsible for what happened to Katsura-san. She was with me when we... found Itou. We went there to reason with him. To make him realize that he should come back to Katsura-san. Stop hurting her.

"Then who?! Who did that to her?!" She screamed, clinging to me, with tears in her eyes. God, I hate myself for what I did.

"Well, now that you're that deep in this hellhole, go on. It's not like something will happen." Stratoavis aided with a jaded tone.

"Did you just see her reaction? She'll go ballistic on Kumi once she gets to know! And I doubt Kumi will let herself be pummeled or insulted, let it be by her will or the will of her bodyguards."

"It's your girlfriend after all. You deal with her." My counterpart chuckled quietly. I didn't bother to respond."

"I know who did this." I said after a longer while of silence. Sekai looked me.

"You... You know?" She stuttered.

"Yes. I will tell you under two conditions though. First, not here. Someplace safe, in your or my place. Second... You won't do anything about it. Anything."

"I... What?"

"I don't want you to get hurt, Sekai. This is serious."

"But I..."

"Have we got a deal?"

"Deal." She nodded after a while, looking surprisingly serious. "On Friday evening. In my place."

"Okay... And there's something else..." I gently took her face in my hands.

"Y-yes?" She asked, her breath becoming shallow. I kissed her. She was prepared though and kissed me back, with all of her passion and force enough to put me down on desk. I could feel our tongues gently exploring each other's cavern. The taste of it... It's driving me insane. Our lips finally separated when we started lacking air to breathe.

"So? What is it you wanted to tell me?" She inquired, smiling slyly. I'm glad I've managed to make her forget about the awful world around us, even for a little while. I wanted to say that I will not leave her like Itou did with Katsura-san, but her kiss pretty much blew out all rational thoughts in my mind.

"I... Wow."

"Think we can repeat it Friday evening?"

She knows the answer and I know it despite pleads of my mind to stop the madness. We will repeat it.

* * *

It's good to see that people's mood is getting better after Itou's suicide. They're smiling more often, cracking jokes and generally being themselves in all of that. I'm happy to see it.

On Thursday afternoon Hikari suggested that we should visit Katsura-san in the hospital. While I doubt she will be able to respond to us... For some reason I know she would want it. And who knows, maybe she will be able to actually talk with us. It was some time since her breakdown already.

In the group of visitors one rule was established: Don't say Itou died. It was my request, as I'm pretty certain we won't save her from the pits of misery this way. Apart from me, Sekai and Kuroda-san, there are also Setsuna, Nanami, Sawanaga, Ashikaga, Kasanoin and Ishida-san. Omazaki-san also came to visit on his own accord. Of course, neither Kumi nor Sensui showed up in person, although the former makes me wonder. Does she know already? If yes, what was her reaction? Perhaps she realized that the thing she did was wrong on so many levels? Or rather went ballistic on Itou, screaming curses under his name?

Not that it matters now.

Doc said that her condition got better. She can now speak, albeit she still doesn't speak much. Is capable of understanding us. All in all, all of that went surprisingly well. Despite what she was saying... She's recovering. Slowly and probably will never get another boyfriend out of spite, hatred, bitterness, all of those combined, whatever... But she's recovering.

Doc noted that she's still not used to big crowds, so he decided to let us in pairs. Kanroji-san obviously went with Kasanoin, ditto with Hikari and Taisuke. Omazaki and Ishida-san went together, then Setsuna and Hikari leaving us as the last pair.

"Katsura-san...? How are you doing?" Sekai greeted her when we entered the room. She really seemed better than the time we last saw her: Her eyes regained the glitter and the girl herself was smiling gently.

"Quite good. Thank you for your concern." She responded, nodding slightly. Her voice seemed slightly off, but other than that she seemed normal... Surprisingly normal.

We chatted for a while, carefully avoiding the topic of Itou. Luckily for us, Katsura-san only responded that "I just don't want to see him now. Not yet." This way, I can assume she will get over it. When we were about to leave, Doc asked if he can have the moment of our attention.

"What is it, Mr. Medicine?" I asked. The man before us seemed... concerned. Worried.

"Katsura-san mentioned you two as her best friends, so I suppose I can be honest with you." Honest? No... No, don't tell me that...

"What do you mean...?" Sekai caught my emotions quite easily.

"She's under effects of strong medicine. Very strong medicine. The moment she stops getting it... She reverts back. In a few hours." Oh God. Oh God, no.

"S-so she just needs to get those pills and...?" There was a hope in Saionji's voice, but I already knew this won't end well.

"First of all, it's expensive. Should Katsura-san exit the hospital, we can no longer support her with it. Secondly, it needs to be administered directly to veins."

"So you're saying that..."

"She will stay here... For a long time." There was a long, awful silence before I finally spoke up in a tone I could only describe as the insides of a grave.

"How long?"

"A year. Maybe two... Up to... Up to twenty."

…Christ. Jesus Holy Mother Christ. You're not serious, are you?

"Twenty." Sekai didn't even ask. She... she made a statement.

"Of course, we'll try to shorten that time as much as possible... But I can't promise anything."

"I... We see." I said, closing my eyes. I kept deluding myself that everything's alright. Oh, how stupid of me.

How entirely stupid of me.

* * *

As I promised to Sekai, I will tell her now what happened. It's Friday evening and I'm silently walking to her place, pondering.

So, Katsura-san will stay in the hospital for at least one year. That's... That's terrible. Hell of a time. One class. For a teenager like her... It's an eternity.

I obviously feel sorry for her. Nobody should suffer like that, but... For all that it's worth, I'd be unable to suffer instead of her. If I were given an option to redeem her from this misery at cost of my own... I would reject.

I'm just a weak-minded fool. One of many.

Thankfully, my parents didn't mind that I wanted to stay a night in Sekai's place. Of course, they just had to add those snarky remarks about "initiating" and "conquering". Yeah, like that's totally gonna happen.

And yet... I'm afraid it might happen sooner than I think. What happened on the rooftop was but a introduction.

Nah. It will be better if I try not to think about it too much.

Saionji opens the door and smiles slightly the moment she sees me. I can't help but think she still snorts at my garment behind my back. Interestingly, she's wearing a blue one-piece dress to her knees and nothing else, being barefoot. While she's most certainly not a tomboy(or at least, not in a straight sense of this word), I've never portrayed her as someone willing to wear something like that. It's just... I dunno, I doesn't seem to suit her as good as, say, t-shirt and jeans.

...But perhaps it's just me.

"Good evening." I greeted her, smiling back. She let me in with an inviting gesture. I've noticed that her mother is nowhere to be seen. "You're alone?"

"Mum said that she needs to stay for a night shift." You're a bad liar, Saionji, but I will go with it. I suppose it's just a part of her scheme to get to me. Well, it won't be that easy and I'm gonna make sure it isn't. For some reason... For some reason I even think she isn't that interested in knowing what's the deal with all of that fuss that was happening for quite some time now.

She leaded me straight to her room. Since my last visit here, nothing was changed. The brown-haired girl took a seat on couch in _seiza_ position and gestured to me to sit next to her.

"Okay, first things first. You promised to tell me the truth behind all of that." So no, she didn't forget.

"Yeah, I said that. But remember, you will take absolutely no steps to anyone after you hear what happened."

"You have my word."

Should I tell her about Itou's murder on Katou-san? This isn't related to the other case at all and I don't want to make it like I was dissing that idiot even more(even if it's tempting). No, for Sekai's sake, I'll pass on that one.

"I suppose you remember the party at Kumi's house, right?"

"Uh-huh." Well, here comes the hard part.

"When everyone was drunk, there was one incident I and Itou noticed. You've noticed that both Kumi-san and Katsura-san where nowhere to be seen?"

"Yes..." Saionji blinked in a sudden realization. "So you want to tell me that..."

"We... We found them in one room. Katsura-san was very obviously drunk, Kumi was sober. Too much sober for me to think it's just alcohol. Itou noticed it and... and that's all. This cretin – forgive me for being honest now, but I need to express myself this instant, even if it means insulting the dead – broke up with her just because of that."

"What? B-but she was drunk, right?"

"That's what I told him. Twice. He didn't bother to listen and took his life instead." I sighed. God, I hoped I'd be able to avoid this, but I just went too angry to take notice.

"So...Not only Makoto... But Kumi-san as well?"

"Yeah. She seemed to plan this, all of this. One day I called her out on it... She felt no remorse. She thinks she may just come in to Katsura-san and announce her love to her... And that was before Itou's suicide."

I gave another look at Sekai. She seemed to ponder for what seemed like hours.

"Does she know?" She finally asked. "Does she know what's with Katsura-san now?"

"I suppose she may know now, but was likely unaware of that prior to meeting her... I don't know what will she do. She may break down in tears... Or blame others."

"Blame others for what? For destroying their relationship?"

"It's true that she did it, but Itou himself should know better. He could see that Katsura-san was tricked into it and didn't mean it. That she loved him... That she still loves him."

"And now he's dead." Saionji really seemed saddened. "That _baka_..."

"Yeah. He's dead."

We were sitting in a long silence for minutes. I'm not sure how much time had passed since this last sentence. I finally spoke up.

"What Kumi didn't see is that Katsura-san has eyes only and only on Itou. She's a broken wreck because of him and his rejection, based on some stupid accident. Karma will hit Kumi hard... But this won't be enough to make up for Katsura-san herself. She was only a victim of those two." Sekai nods and clings on me, hugging tightly.

"I hope you will never leave me." She whispered, her eyes closed.

"I swear."

Thankfully for me, Sekai didn't bother to dig up the topic of Itou's betrayal with Ishida-san or else I'd be forced to tell her about the train incident. Thankfully...

"Say, Casper-kun... How do you think it will end?" She asked me, leaning for a kiss.

"I hope that well." Our lips were just centimeters from each other. I could already feel her smell. Strawberries...

"I hope so too..." And they have finally touched. This kiss was, however, only very brief and very short, as Saionji pulled back just a second later and opened her eyes. In those eyes I could see her dreams, her hopes and last but not least, myself. Brown-haired girl rose from her seat and switched the lights off. I knew what's going to happen next: I saw that sly smile which always spells trouble... And then, she turned them on again, confusing me a bit.

"I've just forgot, we need to make this bed larger." She said with an apologizing smile, giggling awkwardly.

"Come again?"

"Well, we're going to sleep together, right?"

And there goes my mind.

"W-whaat?!"

"We don't have visitors' room. Deal with it." She responded, smiling smugly.

"S-Sekai, I'll just take the couch in the saloon and..."

"You're not going anywhere." She... She locked the door with a key and put in on desk, too far from me. Saionji licked her lips which made me shiver a considerable bit. "But first, the bed."

Turns out, Sekai's couch is quite big. Likely enough for even four people to sleep comfortably.

"Sekai, with all the respect, but I cannot..."

"I don't mind." She cut me off almost instantly. "Setsuna doesn't complain."

"That's because she's a girl, for crying out loud." I bit my tongue the moment I wanted to say "and lesbians for you." That dream will now haunt me forever.

"Nobody complains about it. Hikari, Nanami, Katsura-san when she was here once..."

"All of them are girls, Sekai." She suddenly looks down, as if... embarrassed."

"Um... Taisuke as well."

"That's because he's one hell of a per-wait, what?" I blinked. Is she trying to say that...

"B-but that was before I met you!" Saionji replied defensively. "A-and we both agreed that this was a mistake and..."

"I... Oh."

"I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't want to sound like I... betrayed you."

"Well, if you say it was before we met, then I see no reason to not believe you. I mean, if we weren't friends then..."

"T-thank you... Thank you very much..." She switched off the lights again. Now I know it's all-out from here.

Sekai pushed me on the bed and flew with me in a long, passionate kiss that completely dazed me. I need to work about it, my thought process shuts down too fast when encountered with a kiss. Her tongue went into my cavern, further cementing my brain's clinical death. You're killing me, girl.

And then... And then I lost the track of events.

* * *

**Here you go. It was a long time, but the chapter's here and I hope another ones will be soon as well. **


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